Hinata the Dragonborn
by Dark and Chaotic
Summary: How does one learn to shout when they've yet to learn to speak up for themselves? Follow Hinata as she tries to find her way home, all the while fulfilling her destiny as the Dovahkin, meeting interesting people and even aiding in the battle for the Freedom of Skyrim. Accepting suggestions for quests and people she would encounter. Rated T for blood and violence
1. Prologue

**Summary: Sometimes inexplicable things happen. Whether due to machinations of the daedra or caused by a freak accident in her world, Hyuuga Hinata must find her way home, all the while fulfilling her destiny as the Dragonborn. But how does one learn to shout when they are yet to learn to speak up?**

**Disclaimer: Skyrim belongs to Bethesda and Naruto Belongs to Kishimoto.**

_**Unbound**_

Cold. It was the cold and the chilling wind that took up her attention as she slowly regained consciousness. Then she noticed the melodic sounds of well-build carriagee wheels. Voices of men, the horses, leather against metal, the rustling of leaves and the foreign sound of various birds.

Pale lavender eyes opened with a start, wide and frightful, revealing to her the alien looking land of frost and snow covered woods and mountains. Was she kidnapped? Were her kidnappers taking her to Kumo? She took quick note of their strange clothing. These weren't Kumo ninja. In fact, these people weren't ninja at all. Hinata took note of the bindings on her wrists. Tight and secure, but nothing she couldn't deal with.

'Hey, you are finally awake.'

The pale girl jerked her head in the direction of the voice. It was the man before her, who was also bound as she was. She took note of his armor. Most of the prisoners (for they could be nothing but prisoners) were dressed in such armor. The man was tall with broad shoulders, taller than her father and certainly taller than Jiraiya the Toad Sage. His hair was blonde, like Naruto's, but shoulder lenght, with a small braid at one side. He also sported what seemed to be the beginnings of a rugged blonde beard. His whole appearance seemed rugged and worn. The man had been through a rough few days or even a week.

'Are you alright, lass?' he asked in concern, seeing her wide, terrified eyes. 'You were caught trying to cross the border, weren't you? Same as us and that horse thief over there.' The blonde man inclined his head towards the person next to him.

The dark haired man, who was identified as a horse thief, grumbled and looked away at the road.

'Uhm, n-no.'Hinata started quietly. 'I-I d-don't remember how I g-got here.' she looked at her hands as she slowly took a deep breath, trying to keep herself from panicking and crying.'I-I j-just woke up h-here. I d-don't know where I am.'

She bit her lower lip as she felt tears welling up in her eyes. Her long dark hair hid most of her face but she was certain the man before her knew she was crying. What would her father say if he saw her like this? She wondered if anyone knew that she was missing.

Suddenly the horse thief spoke up.

'You and I shouldn't be here! It's these rebels they want, not us. Damn Stormcloaks, the Empire was nice and lazy and Skyrim was fine until you came along. I could've stolen that horse and be halfway to Hammerfell by now, hadn't the Empire been looking for you bloody Stormcloaks.'

'Shut up back there!' One of the escorting soldiers yelled at them and the horse thief lowered his head, grumbling yet again. Hinata stared at him for a while, trying to process his words. Stormcloaks and an Empire. Hammerfell, a rebellion. None of these things rang any bells in her mind. Where was she? How far away was she from Konoha. The horse thief sighed in exasperation and that brought her out of her thoughts.

'So, what's wrong with him, huh?' he asked, genuinely curious about the gagged man next to her. He was tall, even taller than the blonde man opposite her. He wore an impressive looking set of fine clothes that seemed to be woven with some sort of armor. She could tell that he was some kind of leader or an important person. He was intimidating and imposing, even in his imprisoned state. His gaze held something she recognized immediately – iron resolve, fury, fearlessness. The Will of Fire.

'Watch your tongue, horse thief! You are speaking to Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King!' the blond man snarled, making the thief flinch by the sudden aggression. The gagged man, now Identified as Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak, sent a withering glare towards the thief. His grayish green eyes intensified and the horse thief became as white as a ghost.

'Ulfric?' he whispered, his mouth suddenly dry, 'The Jarl of Windhelm?'

So Jarl was a title and the man's name was Ulfric.

'But if they captured you... the leader of the rebellion. Oh gods! Where are they taking us!?'

'I do not now, but Sovngarde awaits.' the blond man replied calmly and looked towards the road ahead of them.

The thief drew a shuddering breath and started mumbling.

'No...this isn't happening. This can't be happening... Gods, Divines...' he buried his face into his hands in hopelessness and terror.

Hinata swallowed hard. She concentrated on loosening her rope bindings by flexing her hands. She was a ninja and ninja were resourceful. Despite her utterly confusing situation, she willed herself to persevere through her fear and doubts and to do what she was taught to do. She felt someone's gaze upon her and she turned to see Ulfric looking at her with those steely eyes. He was measuring her, trying to determine her worth. She knew, because her father used to look at her the same way. Hinata lowered her head again, hair obscuring her faint blush and she concentrated on her task, opting to be as quiet and unassuming as possible.

'Hey, horse thief.' the blond started.

'What?'

'Where are you from? What village are you from, horse thief?'

'Why would you care?'

'A Nord's last thoughts should be of home.' he said softly, all the while a sad smile appearing on his face. Hinata looked up at him, his words stirring something in her. She understood his sentiment perfectly well. After a few moments of silence, the horse thief spoke up.

'Rorikstead... I'm... from Rorikstead.' he sounded broken and sad.

'And what of you, lass? Where are you from?'

'Konoha. Village hidden in the Leaves.' she spoke quietly, softly, not stuttering even once.

'To be honest, I've never heard of it, lass. You must be very far away from home.'

'I-I don't -' Hinata tried to respond but there was some shouting from the front and all four of them turned to see what was the commotion all about.

'Helgen.' the blond man spoke. 'They are taking us to Helgen.'

Hinata looked at the stone walls in the distance. The structure seemed strangely... primitive. A slight scowl marred her face as she tried to think what it would mean. It was quite possible that this was some sort of old military fort that was used time and again. As they approached the small settlement,however, Hinata discovered the stone walls to be well-kept and...new. Something wasn't adding up and the kunoichi had a bad feeling about it.

One of the soldiers guarding at the wooden gates saluted the man leading the entire operation.

'General Tullius, sir! The headsman is waiting!'

'Good, let's get this over with.'

The horse thief became even more pale ( if that was even possible).

'Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynareth, Akatosh. Divines, please help me!' he started mumbling again and the blond man threw him an annoyed look before opting to ignore his quiet ramblings.

'Look at him.' he started quietly, inclining his head towards the general.

Hinata fixed his gaze in the general's direction. He was on a horse, along with a few others. Only one figure stood out among them, a tall person dressed in hooded black robes with golden embroidery. The general seemed to be speaking to that person. They turned and the kunoichi noted how strange the person, now identified as a woman, looked. There was something definitely... inhuman about her.

'General Tullius the Military Governor. And the Thalmor are with him. Damn elves. I bet they had something to do with this.' the blond man glared and clenched his jaw.

Elves? The question almost left Hinata's lips but she stopped herself. It wouldn't do to reveal just how little she knew of her situation. She pursed her lips and looked down at her wrists. They looked slightly bruised and the skin was definitely tender and red from her actions. But the rope bindings were loose enough. She pulled at her wrists and felt one of her hands slipping through the rope. Good. She did not remove herself from the ropes. Now was not the right moment.

The carriages pulled over one by one at the center of the settlement Helgen. The inside of this place looked even more primitive to her than the outside. There was no electricity or anything remotely technological looking. That bad feeling clutching at her chest intensified.

'Why are we stopping?'

'Why do you think, horse thief? End of line. Let's go. We shouldn't keep the gods waiting for us.' the blond man stood up as one of the soldiers motioned for them to hop off the carriage.

'No! Wait! We're not rebels! Tell them, girl! We aren't Stormcloaks!'

'Face your death with some courage, thief!' the blond man growled.

'I-' Hinata started but the soldier grabbed her roughly by the hand and pulled her down the carriage, causing her to trip at the steps. 'Ah!'

The blond man moved swiftly to her side, catching her before her face would bite the dirt. He glared at the soldier and then looked at her.

'Are you all right, lass?'

'I-I'm fine.' she mumbled and followed him closely towards where the soldiers were gathering them.

They were set in lines. Hinata still stood next to the blond man. She lowered her head and her hair once again obscurred her face from view.

'Byakugan.' she whispered softly and the world around her exploded in a 360 degree vision range. She saw as the blond man looked at her curiously, having heard her soft whisper.

'Ulfric Stormcloak. Jarl of Windhelm.' one of the soldiers read off a list.

'It's been an honor, Jarl Ulfric' the blond man said softly to the Jarl's retreating figure.

'Lokir of Rorikstead.'

'No! I'm not a rebel! You can't do this!' he stated fiercely and suddenly dashed forward.

'Archers!' the heavily armored woman snarled.

'You're not going to kill me!' he exclaimed jovially just as six arrow pierced his back simultaneously. Hinata gasped. The man was dead before he hit the ground.

'Anyone else feel like running?' the armored woman taunted.

The Kunoichi turned off her Byakugan and lifted her head. She locked eyes with the woman and sent her her most withering glare.

'Hn.' the woman sneered and Hinata felt her jaw clench. She hated that woman.

'Ralof of Riverwood.'

The blonde man smiled at her as he bumped his shoulders with her and headed off to the rest of the prisoners waiting their execution. That smile. It was like Naruto's. She didn't want that man to die. She didn't want neither of these prisoners to die.

'You there. Who are you?'

Hinata snapped her attention to the soldier. He seemed slightly unnerved by her blank, pale lavender eyes. She steeled her nerves and racing heart and lifted her chin. She was terrified but she was NOT a coward.

'Hinata Hyuuga, of Konohagakure.' she stated softly, her voice unwavering and not betraying her utter inner chaos. She idly thought that her father would be proud with her display. She thought of her sister Hanabi and of her Cousin Neji. She thought about her team, about Konoha, the Hokage. She thought about Naruto and a happy, soft smile gently spread on her lips, not unlike Ralof's. She would not die today. And if she could help it, neither were going to these Stormcloaks, these rebels.

'Captain, what should we do? She's not on the list.'

'She goes to the block. Move it prisoner.'

'I'm sorry. I will try to send your remains to your home, wherever it is.' the soldier stated sadly.

Hinata stood next to Ralof and started working on the rope bindings again. The general was giving Jarl Ulfric some sort of speech but she did not pay attention to it. Her bindings were finally loose enough to simply shake them off but she held on to them for now. Some sort of priest was giving what seemed to be their last rites. She had formulated a simple plan. Go first, disable the headsman, take the General hostage and provide the Stormcloaks with means to escape. The lay out of Helgen was simple and there were even several underground passages running underneath the settlement. There were roads heading both north and east from Helgen and from the sign she had seen right outside Helgen, Riverwood was to the north. She'd go there, since Ralof was from there. Maybe he would help her out until she figures out what was going on. Hinata took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She prepared herself.

'For the love of Talos, shut up!'

Hinata watched in horror as the impossibly brave man walked up to the headsman and had his head removed. No, she thought, she was supposed to go first in order to help all of them! Naruto would've done the same.

'The girl in the rags!' the captain yelled, locking gaze with her once more. The kunoichi stepped forward, catching Ralof's sad expression. She smiled at him reassuringly.

'We shall meet once more in Sovngarde, lass.' He whispered to her.

As she kneeled at the chopping block, she was vaguely aware of her getting soaked with the blood of the man who had been beheaded before her. His head was in the basket beneath her, his expression frozen into a serene smile. Such a brave man, she thought with admiration.

A strange cry rumbled through the area. The headsman raised his axe.

'Byakugan!' she yelled and her left foot shot forward, striking the man square in the chest, forcing him to stagger backwards. Not a second later she was on her feet, hands free and Juken stance at the ready. In the next moment she shoved her palm with lightning speed at the headsman's heart. He was dead before he fell.

'Archers! Get her!' the captain yelled as she drew her own weapons.

Several arrows whizzed in her direction but neither hit her and they were snapped in two by her impossibly quick and agile hands. Amongst the chaos no one noticed the strange cry repeating itself.

'Yargh!' the captain roared as she slashed at Hinata with her swords. The kunoichi easily sidestepped the attack and then grabben her hand.

'This is for Lokir!' she exclaimed and just as before, shoved her palm onto her chest. Surprise expressed itself onto her face as she coughed out blood and fell to her knees, dying. Hinata's strike had been deliberately weaker. Something huge and heavy collided with the top of the tower before her and for a moment Hinata lost her footing.

'What in Oblivion is that!?' she heard General Tullius exclaim.

She focused her all-seeing gaze upwards. Every single hair on her body was raised in upmost terror. Dark like the void, pitch black scales, glowing red eyes. Rows upon rows of sharp teeth as big and as long as the ninjato the ANBU used. The horrifying beast roared and she felt a massive wave of force slamming into her, knocking her to the ground.

'Urgh!' she cried. Her vision swam. She must've hit her head.

'Hinata!'

Ralof pulled her to her feet and dragged her away from the creature. She vaguely noticed entering some sort of room, probably part of this other tower that was nearby.

'Hinata, lass, can you hear me?'

Ralof gently slapped at her face. Ever so slowly her world righted herself and Ralof's blurry face sharpened properly into view. She blinked rapidly a few times and then nodded curtly. He grinned at her, making her blush, despite the situation.

'That was some nifty work you did there, lass. You oughta teach me that sometime, might come in handy when fighting those damn imperials.' He chuckled and then his face became serious as he turned to look at Jarl Ulfric.

The man was leaning on a wall and the gag had been removed.

'Jarl Ulfric, was that really a dragon? I thought they were legends.'

'Legends don't burn down villages.' his voice was deep and rich but it was his words that sent a chill down her spine. His words made her think of the attack of the Kyuubi for some reason. Oddly this whole event reminded her of those long hours of utter horror and carnage that had been caused by the Demon Fox's wake.

There was a roar and the tower shook.

'We need to move! Now!' the Jarl shouted.

'Hinata! With me!' Ralof grabbed her hand and pulled her up the stairs of the tower.

There was a man by a narrow, tall window who was trying to loosen the stones enough to make the window wider. There was another roar, this time a lot more closer. Hinata activated her Byakugan, eyes widening in alarm.

'Get back!' she yelled at the man but it was too late.

The black dragon collided with the tower and there was debris everywhere. Ralof had pulled her to the ground protecting her with his body. Luckily, neither of them were suffered anything worser than scraps and a few more bruises. Unluckily, howeer, the dragon decided to poke it's head in the hole.

'**Yol Toor Shul!' **

As the beast's great maw opened and showered everything in the vicinity with its fiery breath, Hinata channeled chakra to her feet, grabbed Ralof's armor and jumped away from the dragonfire.

'Oof!'Ralof grunted as he fell on top of Hinata, not having been prepared for her rather big jump.

The black monster pulled away from the hole and flew off.

'The Dragon's gone, lass. Seems' like you are full of surprises.' He grinned at her and she blushed again.'That's the inn over there. I want you to jump over. I'll follow when I can. Now go!'

Hinata nodded and made the jump effortlessly. She was a ninja after all and not some push over. She made her way out of the burning inn.

'Haming! Move!'

A man shoved aside a small child as the dragon opened its mouth wide and unleashed a bout of dragonfire. The man was engulfed by the unforgiving flames of the beast.

'Papa!' the boy screamed and tried to run to his father's remains as the dragon drew breath yet again. As Hinata was about to act to pull the child away, she saw the soldier who had listed her down for execution. He ran, grabbed the child and hid behind the remains of a building, where he handed over to an old man.

'Gunnar, can you keep Haming safe?'

'Aye, Hadvar.'

The dragon roared loudly and flew into the sky again.

'Still alive, prisoner?' the now identified Hadvar jogged up to Hinata. He looked pale and there seemed to be a deep scratch running through his torso, tearing up his armor. He looked like he had lost some blood but, apparently, someone had done a hasty job trying to seal the wound.'Come with me if you want to get out of here alive.'

The Kunoichi didn't say anything but followed him anyway. Even though he was an Imperial Soldier, he had also saved the life of that boy, Haming. She was capable of taking care of herself, but she wagered that he could use a hand if that dragon swooped down again.

'Stay close to the wall, prisoner.' he said and pulled her to himself protectively. Her cheeks flushed almost immediately.

The dragon landed right above their heads and Hinata held her breath, praying to all that is holy for the horrid beast not to look down.

'**Yol Toor Shul!'**

For a part of a second Hinata's mind wondered about if those were actual words she was hearing. She had heard something similar earlier, when he attacked the tower.

'Hurry, Prisoner! Follow me!' He tried to pull her again but she held him.

'Matte! Wait.'

Hinata pressed her palm against his chest and a concentrated look appeared. For a moment Hadvar looked surprised, almost scared, expecting her to finish him off as she had the captain and the headsman. But then her palm started glowing green.

'Mystical Palm Technique' she recited as she added her other palm into her effort. She was wasting chakra rapidly and beads of sweat appeared on her pale face.

Hadvar looked down, almost in wonder, as he felt his flesh knit itself together. A few moments later she released the technique, breathing hard and feeling almost utterly exhausted.

'I am s-sorry. B-but this is the least I c-could do.' she said softly as she poked a tenketsu point, forcing his mind into unconsciousness.

She stared guiltily at him for a few seconds before dragging him off into the direction of General Tullius.

'Hit that damn thing with everything you've got!' the General shouted.

'By the Divine, are we even doing any damage to that beast?' one of the soldiers near her gasped as he readied and fired another arrow and the skillfully maneuvering dragon in the sky.

The Kunoichi activated her Byakugan and saw Ralof running not too far away. With a grunt she dropped Hadvar to the ground next to a group of soldiers and ran off.

'Hinata! I'd thought you had ran off with the Imperials. Good to see you are still with us.' he grinned at her.

'Uhm.' the Hyuuga heiress blushed slightly and a small shy smile appeared on her face.

'Come on, lass. There are some underground tunnels at the keep we could use to escape.'

Once inside the keep he looked around.

'Seems like we are the only ones who made it.' he stated sadly as he looked upon the fallen body of a fellow Stormcloak.' We'll meet again in Sovngarde, brother.'

Ralof sighed and kneeled beside him.

'That thing was a dragon, no doubt. Just like the children's stories and the legends. The Harbringers of the End-Times.' he shook his head, as if trying to clear it. 'We better get moving, Hinata. You'll need some gear, though. Take Gunjar's. He won't be needing it anymore. You look exhausted and I don't thing you can rely just on those fancy tricks of yours.'

Several minutes later Hinata found herself dressed in an oversized Stormcloak Curiass and Fur Boots. She almost opted to remain with the footwraps for mobility's sake but the Fur Boots were warm and she enjoyed every bit of warmth she could muster in this cold place she had appeared in. The axe she had taken up felt weird in her hand. She was not used to the distribution of its already heavy weight. She personally preferred the light but versatile Kunai and Shuriken, and even some Senbon. She gave the weapon a few test swings, trying to get a better hand of it.

'Damn! No way to open any of these doors from our side!' Hinata heard Ralof's swears. But among them she also heard the very faint sounds of footsteps and the clinging of metal armor.

'Someone is comming.' she whispered and pulled Ralof to the side.

'It's the Imperials! Be ready!' he whispered and drew out his own axe.

As the door opened Hinata and Ralof made quick work of the three soldiers.

'Let's see if any of these soldiers have the key to unlock that door. Or at least a lockpick.'

A quick activation of the Byakugan later and Hinata now sported the needed key as well as two iron daggers and three swords. She did a few test slashes with the daggers. Still not as good as Kunai, but she found it more easy to work with them than the swords or the Axe.

'It seems you know your way with them daggers, lass. Now let's get out of here before that dragon decides to bring the whole tower down on our heads.'

Hinata nodded and followed him down the tunnel. She noticed that the air was damper and cooler than it was outside. She felt immediately thankful for the change of clothes. The blue cloth of the Stormcloak Curiass was of a thick and sturdy material and it kept her somewhat warmer that the rags she had woken up in. She wondered where her things were and why these Imperials had taken away her clothes as well. The entire area shook again and part of the tunnel collapsed before them, making her yelp out.

'Damn. That dragon doesn't give up easy. Are you allright, Hinata?' Ralof looked at her with concern in his kind blue eyes.

She immediately flushed and nodded, not trusting her voice to answer. Ralof noticed and grinned at that.

'You're such a shy thing, lass. It's cute.' he chuckled.

Hinata was about to squirm uncomfortably and blush a more intense shade of red when the two of them heard voices from behind a door near them. Ralof inclined his head towards the door and the Kunoichi nodded, dagger at the ready. The Stormcloak opened the door quickly, revealing a store room and two Imperial soldiers, one wearing light armor and the other – heavy. The two Imperial soldiers rushed at them but before Ralof could even strike one blow, their enemies dropped dead on the floor with daggers sticking out of their somewhat exposed throats. Ralof stood still, axe raised. He blinked and he looked at Hinata's determined expression and then looked at the still warm bodies of their foes. He blinked again.

'You really are something, Hinata. We could use someone like you fighting for the freedom of all of Skyrim.' Ralof said approvingly (and naturally she flushed at the praise) and went to check the bodies for anything useful.'No one would suspect such a pretty young thing like you to be a flurry of destruction. And if I didn't know any better I'd think that pretty pink flush of yours wasn't genuine.'

'N-no, i-it's ' she stuttered uncomfortably, looking down and poking her fingers together.

'Calm down, lass, I believe you.' Ralof chuckled again and patted her shoulder.'I also belive you dropped these.' he grinned as he passed her the two daggers she had thrown, now clean of blood.

'Uhm, t-thank you, R-ralof-san.' She took the daggers and attached them to the belt of her Stormcloak Curiass.

'This is a store room. We should try and find anything useful, like some Health Potions. And I think you might need some Magicka potions yourself. Those little hand tricks of yours definately look like magic.'

Ralof looked about, searching for the aforementioned potions while Hinata busied herself with looking for anything edible or otherwise useful. Soon enough she had attached to her Curiass a small backpack filled with smoked meat, several different batches of spices and what she hoped were herbs of some use. She also found a few bottles with alcohol that she took to clean up the cuts and bruises. She did not know if this place had any proper medical paraphernalia. These people still used potions! Small bottles filled with red liquid that smelled funny and tasted even worse by the look of Ralof's expression as he immediately gulped down one. Despite her initial distrust in the liquid, she couldn't help but notice how he looked better for the wear than before.

'Here, I found a single Minor Magicka Potion. I suggest you drink it, you might feel better. I know it's not much and I don't guarantee the taste, but it will definately help.' he shoved a small bottle filled with blueish liquid.

Hinata blinked and then uncorked it. She sniffed at its contents. It smelled like herbs and ozone. She frowned thoughtfully at it and then gave Ralof one last look before gulping down the minute contents of the potion. Despite the distinctive herbal scent, her taste buds exploded with a somewhat metallic taste and the liquid pricked at her throat all the way down. The effects, she felt almost immediately. A small amount of her chakra pool had been restored.

'We better keep the other potions for later, just in case. You never know what might happen.' Ralof said as he attached a small backpack to his own belt.' Oh, and here is another dagger I found and three kitchen knives.'

'T-thank you.'

'Are you done? We should get going?'

'Uhm...A-almost, Ralof-san.'

Hinata looked about her, for some sort of cloth. She spotted a few empty sacks at one side of the room and she took out one of the iron daggers. The way she had slipped the knives and the daggers on her belt was not going to do. She was a kunoichi, a ninja. And ninja were all about resourcefullness and mobility. One wrong move and one of those kitchen knives would easily slip and stab her in the lower areas of her abdomen. She did not want that to happen. Thus she tore up the rough but sturdy cloth of one sack and wrapped it like bandages around both legs. Ralof watched curiously as she slipped the knives at one leg and the daggers at the other.

Now she was ready.

Further down there were the sounds of fighting. As they rushed in, Hinata saw with no little amount of curiousity as a man dressed in simple black hooded robes expelled some sort of lightning technique at two Stormcloaks, a man and a woman. There were two other soldiers and neither Ralof nor Hinata wasted any time in aiding the fellow escapees. The Kunoichi did the most logical thing and lunged with an iron dagger at the robed man. It was not safe to throw it for the moment- the risk of hurting friendlies was too great. A single stab to the left side of the chest did its job and the robed man fell to the ground, coughing blood and bleeding profusely. The Stormcloaks dealt with the remaining living Imperials in a swift fashion not a few moments later.

'Have any of you seen Jarl Ulfric? Was he with you?' Ralof asked with concern evident in his voice.

The blond woman's answer was negative.

'I see. You two rest up. Here.' Ralof pulled out two of their precious supply of Minor Health Potions. 'It's not much but it'll help.'

'Talos be with you, brother.' The Stormcloak man nodded his head gratefully at the offering. He was worser for wear than the woman and she opted for him to drink both potions. Immediately the gash at his side started to heal and it was no longer bleeding.

Hinata offered a bottle of mead to the woman and was about to tell her to use it to clean the wounds.

'Hey, Ralof! Your little girlfriend knows the most important stuff!' the woman barked out a laugh and then took a big swig, directly from the bottle.' Damn that hit the spot. Bloody Imperials hoarding the good stuff.' the woman eyed the label.' Blackbriar mead too!'

She handed the bottle to the man who was also chuckling, albeit somewhat painfully.

'Hinata, I found this nice big knapsack, you can put the swords and the axe in there and I think you can grab onto some more armor to sell it later for coin.' Ralof handed her said knapsack. 'I also found some lockpicks. I figured you, ah, might be able to put them to good use. I saw some coins and a book in that cage over there. Poor sod. Damn Imperials must've been bored to toss gold coins at him or something.' Ralof shook his head pitifully at the dead robed man locked in one of the cages.'

'I c-can use them. T-thank you, R-ralof-san.' Hinata bowed slightly, her hair obscuring her flushing face for a moment. Ralof grinned again and the other two Stormcloaks chuckled.

She made quick work of the primitive lock. In fact she was certain she could've found her way around it even with one of the smaller kitchen knives at her disposal. She took the small gold coins, looking them over for a few seconds before pocketing them. She also saw a book which she decided to take. There was already another one in the knapsack. It was information and she knew as a ninja that any information was invaluable.

'That's some sort of spellbook.' the Stormcloak man spoke up. 'You can learn the spell from it and use it against your enemies. I figure you wouldn't have a problem with it. You seem to have the knack for it.'

'You are some sort of mage fighter? Meh, to each his own.' the Stormcloak woman said and took another swig of the Blackbriar mead. 'That's some prime quality stuff, you know.' she shook the bottle at the Kunoichi.

'U-uhm, t-there is more in t-the store room.' Hinata said softly.

'Perfect! Ralof, don't wait for us. Can't let them bloody Imperials keep their hold on our mead as well as our land, that would be sacrilege!'

'Damn straight! Let's go, Hinata.'

'Hai.' the Hyuuga girl agreed and followed after Ralof. She turned to give the remaining Stormcloak soldiers one last look. They had some that spark of grim determination in their eyes. They were staying to give her and Ralof a better chance to escape. Her throat tightened at that realization. She turned to them fully and bowed respectfully, her eyes shimmering. These people here were brave men and women. Brave and loyal to the end, like true warriors. She promised herself not to let their sacrifice be in vain. She turned towards Ralof's retrating figure again and quickly followed. As she stepped into pace with him, she reached for his arm and laid her hand on his forearm and squeezed lightly, both seeking his support and offering some of her own. His blue eyes turned to her, but she was looking forward, her face grim and eyes heavy with emotion.

'Sovngarde awaits them and there is no greater honor for a Nord.' he said quietly.

'It still doesn't m-make it any easier t-to lose a comrade in b-battle.'she murmured softly, voice still thick with emotion.

The whole area shook again as there was another roar, this time sounding a bit more distant than the ones before. There were startled yells ahead of them.

'I'm not staying here to get killed by some dragon!' one panicked Imperial soldier cried out.

'Stand still, soldier! We have orders from General Tullius to wait here untill reinforcements arrive.'

Ralof and Hinata did not wait to make their move. Several dead and looted Imperial Soldiers later, the two of them found themselves in what seemed to be a cave. Hinata activated her Byakugan. Ralof stared at her curiously as he watched the veins on her temples subsequently bulge and then shrink again.

'There are several giant spiders ahead and then a slumbering b-bear.'she informed him.

'So that's what that spell does. You can see things?'

'Uhm, y-yes, s-something like t-that.'

Ralof noticed how her stuttering seemed to increase whenever she felt more uncomfortable. To him it seemed like she did not wish to tell him anything about this spell she used. Like it was a secret and she was forbidden from talking about it. He did not press any further.

'Spiders have always given me the creeps. Too many eyes, you know.' Hinata smiled at Ralof's attempt at humor as they entered a part of the cave which was covered in thick pearly cobwebs.'These spiders spew poison, so you better watch out. We don't have anything to treat poisons so we have to be careful.'

Hinata nodded and put away her daggers. She took up her Juken stance, feeling her chakra levels were sufficient for dealing with 4 spiders half the size of Akamaru.

'Byakugan!' she called out and rushed into the spider infested cavern. 'Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!'

'Two Palms!' she swirled and jumped and swirled yet again, striking and dodging the spewed poison from the Frostbite Spiders.' Sixteen Palms! Thirty-Two Palms! Sixty-four Palms!'

All four spiders lay dead or otherwise nearing death. Hinata panted as she tried to catch her breath. Maybe she had overestimated her chakra reserves.

'You're a little spitfire, aren't you, lass?' Ralof shook his head as Hinata flushed yet again but managed to giggle a bit, nervously.'Come on, let's see if we can sneak past that bear you mentioned.'

Further ahead they found an overturned wooden cart and various bottles with spirits littering the immediate area around it. Ralof bent over and picked up one of the bottles.

'Hah, more Blackbriar stuff. We should probably take it with us and leave some with Gerdur. She's my sister. She lives in Riverwood and that's where we are heading. I'm sure she'll help you out anyways, but a little something to cheer her up would also help.' A grin spread itself on his face. There was some sort of joke there and Hinata was starting to think that these Nords, as Ralof called their people, were religiously partial to their spirits. It definitely wasn't the Lady Hokage's addiction to alcohol. It resembled Naruto's adoration of ramen. In fact, she believed that was exactly the same thing.

'Hey, look what I found.' Hinata turned to look at what Ralof was holding- a battered, horned Iron Helm. He gave her a particularly familiar cheeky grin that made her blush and he promptly deposited it on top of her head. She blinked nervously as he just kept staring her with that grin plastered on her face. The blush turned a more vivid shade of read and spread down to her neck. 'Look at you! A fiersome warrior of cuteness!'

He was even about to chuckle but then both of them stiffened at the sounds of a bear rumbling and snorting. The Kunoichi silently took off the helmet, Byakugan already active and prepared two of the iron daggers in her hands. This was their last opponent before they hit the road to Riverwood. She moved swiftly, but not as fast as she was capable at the moment. The Stormcloak Curiass was made for protection and a lot of mobility but it was not designed for stealth. The more sensitive ears of the bear would easily pick up the quiet clinging sounds of the underlying chainmail beneath the layer of quilted leather and the thick blue cloth. As she reached an agreeable distance of the beast she let out her breath slowly and silently and moved in for the kill, both daggers poised for the junction between the base of the neck and the first few vertebrae of the spine. Death was painless and instantaneous.

Ralof approached and let out a low whistle.

'Look at those claws. Almost as big as your daggers. They might fetch some nice coin at the Trade Post in Riverwood. And this bear was young and healthy. Look at the pelt and its fur.' he rubbed his hands across its back.

'I c-can skin it.' Hinata offered.

There wasn't a self respecting ninja that did not know how to survive in the wilds. Hunting, fishing, gathering various herbs, roots and fruit that the wilderness offered. Skinning was just one of those things that came with the whole survivalist package. It was a staple course in the academy, seeing as Konoha was literally nestled in the middle of one of the thickest forested areas on the Entire elemental continent.

Skinning the beast was not a difficult task but it proved slightly overwhelming. The bear was easily four times her size and a bit more than twice and a half Ralof's. Removing the claws without damaging them took some more skills involved, like her Byakugan. With the Stormcloak's help, she cut up all of the edible meat from the animal. With that, their packs were bursting and Hinata hoped that they'd reach Riverwood before said meats started to spoil. At her concerns Ralof merely patted her shoulder and said:

'Riverwood is around a day's walk from here at a decent pace. It's already late in the afternoon so we can either set camp at some point down the way or brave the road in the night. And don't worry about the meat spoiling. It gets so cold at night we might actually find it somewhat frosted in the morning.' Ralof grinned at that but Hinata definately did not find such low temperature drops to her liking. Her slightly frowning expression said as much.

'Don't worry, Hinata. I'm here and I'm sure I can keep you warm.' Ralof closed his eyes and laughed heartily until he heard a heavy thud and found the poor, beat red Hyuuga Heiress unconscious on the floor.

_**A/N: And this is the prologue to my latest idea obsession. Ickle Hinata-chan as the Dragonborn. I pretty much have an idea as to how she has ended up in Tamriel without any memories of it. I also find Ralof's overly friendly attitude somewhat cannon for him, since Hinata looks nothing more that a ridiculously cute girl with large breasts and the cutest utterly shy disposition ever. I think I did justice to her character, considering her situation and everything. I promise to have most of the important questlines present in some form and I even take requests and suggestions for where should Hinata go next or who should she meet and interact with. Well, that's all from me for now! Be sure to read and review as that's the main thing that would get the story updating itself faster! If you are interested in anything else I've written, check out my profile! And if you have nothing better to do even after that, you can always PM me. I happen to find the best inspirations among the random little things, so replying to a few private messages is always fun!**_


	2. On the road to Riverwood

_**A/N: Several hours of sleep later and I find two reviews and a PM! Some 50 or so people have looked up the story and I'm actually quite happy with that! Anyways, I've said it in one of my replies to a review but I will say it here as well – Hinata must drop in a dead faint at least once per chapter, otherwise she would not be Hinata. Furthermore, I made a character in Skyrim that looks like her and right about now she met up with Gerdur and Hod (after travelling down the road with Ralof) and she also accepted the love related quest from Faendal. Funnily enough, while going down, she was actually attacked by two necromancers from the other side of the river and Ralof made quick work of them with his bow. Didn't bother crossing the river since Ralof might wander off on his own into Riverwood. As stated before, accepting suggestions for the quests and people she should encounter and also ideas as to how to level her skills. I am thinking of a dagger wielding stealth assassin with some dabblings into the destruction and restoration trees. Also big thanks to the two people who reviewed. I had fun reading the guest's comment – it was all in caps.**_

**Disclaimer: Skyrim belongs to Bethesda Softworks and Naruto is property of Masashi Kishimoto.**

_The Guardian Stones, Embershard Mine and Riverwood_

"I'm really sorry about earlier. I swear I didn't mean it in that sense." Ralof apologized for what must've been the thousandth time. He really looked sorry too.

"Uhm, i-it's allright, R-ralof-san." Hinata mumbled and blushed in embarassment.

"So, tell me your story. You said you didn't remember how you ended up tied and in rags, in our predicament."

"H-hai. One moment I-I was sleeping b-back home and t-the next I w-wake up l-like t-this."

Ralof noticed how she started fiddling with her fingers again. It was a nervous habbit of hers, which she seemed to apply whenever she felt more uncomfortable than usual.

"Sounds like quite a bit of magic was involved in that. You don't just wake up randomly anywhere and you strike me as a lass who can take care of herself. Especially with those all-seeing eyes of yours." He chuckled and she became even more nervous."Listen, lass, if you don't want to talk about it, it's perfectly fine. I understand if it's a secret or something. I don't want to push you."

"Uhm, n-no, it's f-fine." She said softly."I-it's just t-that I really h-have no i-idea w-where I am."

"You're in Skyrim, lass. You've certainly heard of it, have you not?"

"N-no, I h-haven't."

"And this...Konoha, was it? Where is it, exactly? I've never heard of it, either."

"It's in F-fire C-country. In the E-elemental Continent."

"Another continent? I've never heard of it, sad to say. You're on Tamriel now, lass. This was definately magic's doing. But Nirn is a big place. I'm certain you'll find your way back home one way or another." Ralof smiled reassuringly at her and squeezed her shoulder, earning a shy smile and some more blushing from her.

"I-I wonder w-what my f-father is t-thinking right n-now."

"Your father?"

"Uhm, h-hai. H-he'd be furious a-and v-very worried. He'd p-probably h-have the entire v-village on their t-toes."

"What father wouldn't do that to find their little girl, especially when they're a cute lass like you."

"I-I j-just h-hope m-my d-disappearance d-doesn't cause problems w-with K-Kumo." she looked sad and almost lost. A spark of helplessness found its way through her eyes.

"Kumo?"

"H-hai. T-they a-are rival ninja." She explained simply.

"Konoha, Kumo, Byakugan, ninja. You have some very strange words and yet you speak our language perfectly, like you've been here all your life. Even your own name is strange, but I like it. It suits you. It's bound to have a meaning, though. What does it stand for?"

Hinata blinked at Ralof, processing what he had just said. She was indeed speaking their language and she hadn't noticed until now. She sighed mentally, adding that mystery to the list of things she had to find out. On a more spine-chilling note, she wasn't even anywhere near the Elemental Continent, judging by the fact that Ralof hadn't heard of it. She noticed him still looking at her expectantly.

"Uhm...it means _Place in the Sun._" she poked her index fingers together.

"So your name is Sunshine? One of your parents must've been a poet or a bard. Ah! There's the exit of the cave! I thought we'd never leave this Gods' forsaken place! Come on, lass. Daylight's burning and we need to get to Riverwood before it gets too cold even for us sturdy Nords."

"H-hai!" Hinata hefted her heavy knapsack up her shoulders and followed Ralof through the opening. Seeing the sun again made her squint slightly for a few moments. There was a roar in the sky and Ralof immediately pulled her into a crouch by a rock, hopefully obscurring them from view. The great dark beast flew overhead and away, behind some of the surrounding mountains.

"That was too close to comfort, lass." Ralof puffed out some air in relief, as he rubbed his eyes and forehead. "We'd better get going before the dragon decides to turn around."

As they headed onwards, Hinata noticed that the road ahead was steep and that they themselves seemed to be quite high up whatever mountain they were on. She took her time to gaze at the surroundings, bewildered by the sheer height of some of the surrounding peaks. Among all of them, however, stood out a hulking mass of rock, ice and snow, that tore through the skies themselves.

"That's the Throat of the World. It's where you'll find High Hrothgar, where the Greybeards live. It's quite the pilgrimage, walking the seven thousand steps to reach their abode. I'm thinking of going through it myself after Jarl Ulfric takes his place as the rightful High King of Skyrim." Ralof sighed whistfully." Just imagine the view you'd see from up there. I've heard that when the weather is good you could see the whole of Skyrim and even the better part of Tamriel itself. The air up there is thin and the wheather is so fickle, it could change into a fierce blizzard in the blink of an eye. You know, my father took the journey once. He said it was the hardest thing he had ever done, battling with the unforgiving elements of the mountain, and yet, it had been the most deeply spiritual experience he had ever felt. Hey, maybe you can come with me to High Hrothgar sometime before you return home. Can't have you say you've gone to Skyrim without meditating upon the ten Emblems that are on your way up the Seven Thousand steps."

"M-maybe I-I'll do just t-that.' Hinata smiled shily.

Ralof grinned, looking slightly less tired. Maybe he had his way with words, or maybe he knew how to keep high morale. Whatever the case, Hinata found herself looking forward to travelling like this with Ralof. She felt as if she could trust him completely. He was a good man and he reminded her so much of Naruto. It was fascinating. From what she understood, this was an entire country, in which their very way of life mimicked Naruto's ninja way. It was a mind boggling prospect.

"Hey, there are some snowberry bushes. Maybe we can pick berries along the way before we head way too low. They grow only higher up and in the colder, frostbitten parts to the north. My sister Gerdur used to make this absolutely delicious Berry Crostata, just like our mother used to make it. Then she got married and there was no one left to make that dessert..." Ralof plucked a single ripe, blood red berry from one of the bushes and shoved it in his mouth, forming an expression of utter bliss."Delicious sweet goodness." he sighed and then started plucking all of the berries and into a small cloth bag. "You should try some."

Hinata nodded absently. She was busy examining some of the flowers that were growing around the road. She plucked a purple mountain flower and sniffed it cautiously. She picked at the other two types of mountain flowers, the red and the blue ones.

"This smells familiar." she mumbled as she plucked a petal from the Red Mountain flower and plopped it her mouth. That was definately one of the herbs used for that Potion of Minor Magicka she had gulped down. Hinata hummed lightly as her deft hands made quick work of the flowers and now they were stacked neatly and then carefully placed them in one of the pouches of the Stormcloak Curiass she was wearing.

As the sun started to head downwards to the west, Ralof and Hinata found themselves approaching some sort of ruins of an altar or something.

"These are the guardian stones." Ralof explained."Three of thirteen that are littered across skyrim."He went to touch the sone monument, depicting what seemed to be a warrior."These three in particular represent the Thief, the Mage and the Warrior. It is said that they grant you with their blessing. Come on, Hinata. Don't be shy." Ralof beckoned her forward and she found herself standing in the middle between the three monuments.

Hinata turned her gaze towards the Thief Stone. It showed a carving of a cloaked man, using daggers. It was obvious that it represented the most basic aspects of the ninja way of work. The Mage Stone depicted a wizened old man with an impractically long beard. Robes swaying and staff raised in a dramatic fashion, the Mage was casting some sort of spell. The final Guardian Stone was the Warrior Stone. She felt herself immediately drawn to it. It was an armored man with a horned helmet, a shield and a huge axe. Somehow, she felt herself connected to it. _To protect. To fight for what you believe in. To never give up._

The Will of Fire.

It reminded her of the Will of Fire, the most importact aspect of her ninja way of life. It reminded her of Naruto.

Hinata gently pressed the tips of her fingers to the carvings on the Warrior Stone. The monument came to life as light spread from it and warmth caressed her fingertips.

"A warrior, eh? I figured you'd go for the Thief Stone with your skills, but if that's what you want then I shall be the last one to argue."

"It's n-not just the skills, R-ralof-san." Hinata suddenly stated softly. "It's the W-will of Fire. I-it's w-what I stand f-for. W-what I believe in."

For a moment, Ralof gaped at her and Hinata couldn't stop the light blush from creeping in. He resembled Naruto too much for her own peace of mind. The blond man grinned and then laughed heartily.

"Spoken like a true Nord and you even aren't one of our own! I'd love to meet more of your people someday. Ah, the stories and mead we'd share, the battles and the glory!" Ralof shook his head. "Let's get a move on, it's getting dark soon. We're only halfway there."

Hinata nodded and followed him. Despite how tired and exhausted he looked, there was a certain spark in his eyes that told her that he was in high spirits. His determination was infectious and she found herself moving slightly more freely than before, with a bit of a spring to her step.

"Do you hear that?" Ralof had suddenly stopped and asked. Hinata stopped by his side and concentrated on her surroundings.

"Byakugan!" she mumbled and veins bulged around her eyes. "There is a hot spring up ahead, 50 meters to the south-east." she reported by habbit and headed that way.

It was off the road but she doubted they'd get lost. Both of them had experience with the wilds.

"We should set up camp here and start a fire. It wouldn't be a bad idea to smoke the meats while we're at it too." Ralof said as he dropped his bag by the base of a thick tree trunk.

Hinata did the same and activated her Byakugan again for a short while.

"I-I'll get some firewood." she said and silently sped off into the direction in which she had seen a fallen tree log.

The log itself was mostly rotten and covered with thick off-white spongi. She used one of the kitchen knives to remove the intact and fresh pieces and carefully placed them in a separate pouch. She noted that with all of this gathering she was swiftly running out of room. Hinata hoped that she could sell at least some of the loot at the local trade post in Riverwood. With a sigh, the Hyuuga heiress took out the Stormcloak War Axe she had first equipped but had since hanging to one of the leather belts of the Curiass and then she hacked away at the dry branches of the fallen tree log. They were mostly dry and she was certain they would burn well. When she had returned to camp, she found Ralof to have prepared the campfire sight with suitably sized smooth rocks from the hot spring's stream and was now scraping with a sword at the Bear Pelt's flesh side, which had been thrown over a low branch.

"I'll let the Bear Pelt soak in the stream overnight when I finish cleaning it. Once we reach Riverwood you can tan it nice and proper and maybe make yourself a warm cloak out of it."

"H-hai."

Hinata dropped the gathered fire wood onto the chosen campfire site and then concentrated. Her deft fingers executed a short sequence of hand seals in rapid succession and when that ordeal was done, there was a spark and a crack and the firewood started cackling with the newly made fire.

"I've gathered and cleaned some sticks for you to use to smoke the meat." Ralof said and used the sword to point at said sticks. Hinata picked one up and examined them. They were mostly straight, sturdy and thin and Ralof had expertly stripped them of their bark and also sharpened one end.

The Kunoichi left the sticks (skewers really) and went over to the steaming stream of the hot spring. She washed her hands all the way to her elbows as best as she could and then she used a bit of the cheaper mead she had taken to rub into her skin. She had no soap nor did she know if she'd have any once they get to Riverwood. This was as clean as she could get and with that out of the way she started working on cutting the bear meat in long strips, washing it of the blood and skewering it by the fire. Usually she'd opt to cook the meat and then eat it, but they had a lot of bear meat in excess and she was not one to waste food. It had usually been Kiba who had done the smoking when he felt like having a light snack on the odd occassion (which made up for a lot of odd occassions, really). So, Hinata worked by what she had seen from his experience. Not directly over the fire, but by the side of it and all those other little details.

From the store room they had gone through she had also found some potatoes and other assorted vegetables. She placed several potatoes and leaks by the ashes nearer the fire than the bear meat. After a moment or two of wondering if that would be enough, Hinata took out one of the few small pots she had taken with herself and rinsed it thoroughly in the stream. Feeling hungry, she placed the pot by the fire and sliced a small piece of bear fat that started sizzling almost immediately. She chopped up some bear meat and pulled the leaks from the ashes. They had merely gotten hot by that point and she chopped them in big pieces into the pot. The whole meal thing was rather improvised but she followed the sweet whispered nothings that her stomach breathed into her hungry subconscious and she knew it was going to be delicious and nutritious.

"Oh, that's starting to smell delicious. Good thing I didn't stop you from getting those pots, eh Hinata? You should try and add a few dry Elves Ears leaves into the stew. Too bad we have no salt."Ralof licked his lips hungrily as he eyed the now bubbling bliss. Hinata giggled softly at his expression and then turned around to look for the said herb. She scrunched it up in her hands and brought them to her nose, inhaling the rich, unfamiliar scent of the herb. Yes, they'd definately go well with her improvised stew.

"We're in for a feast tonight, lass. I haven't eaten this good in...days."

He probably had barely eaten at all, Hinata discreetly thought.

"I-I think the stew i-is ready, Ralof-san" she said as she pulled out two wooden plates.

"Hinata, what does this 'san' mean, that you keep adding to my name?" Ralof asked curiously in between bites.

"Uhm, i-it's a h-honorific from w-where I come from, R-ralof-san." She started. "It means M-mister."

"Well, Hinata. You don't need to be that formal, makes me feel old." he said.

"Uhm, I-I'm sorry." she mumbled and looked down at her own portion of stew.

"Don't worry about it, Hinata. You just don't need to be so formal. We are friends, aren't we?"

"Ye-yes, we are." the Kunoichi nodded in agreement.

"Well, I am stuffed, the Bear Pelt is soaking in the stream, the meats are smoking and I am pretty much this close to dropping dead asleep."

"I-I'll take first watch, R-ralof-sa-, I mean Ralof."

The blond man blinked at her. First watch? That was rather... military of her.

"Just don't forget to wake me up at some point. You need rest as well."

Hinata nodded and watched as Ralof turned his back to the campfire and almost as soon as he closed his eyes, he fell asleep. The girl sighed and rubbed her arms. She added a few more sticks to the cackling fire and moved closer to it. That was a bit better, but she still felt quite uncomfortable, what with the cold, the dirt, the blood. She looked down at her attire and dejectedly took note of her own sorry state. The two of them probably looked like half-chewed mud rats that had been out in the rain for hours. Hinata sighed again and went over by the stream. She started unclasping the various thin leather belts that were donned upon her Curiass. Next went the blue thick cloth that was wrapped around it. At this point it looked more reddish brown than blue and she dipped it the warm spring's water. She doubted all the blood and grime would be washed away with just simple rinsing. She had to use her Kunoichi training. Her fingers glowed blue as her hands made their way through the material. Thick coils of filth were washed away by the stream. By the time she was done with it, it had regained most of its original color. She could even make out a faint stylized symbol of a bear. Absently, her hand went to her throat where her ninja head band would usually be. She sighed sadly and then placed the cloth on a low branch near the fire to dry.

The Hyuuga heiress looked at Ralof, who happened to be snoring lightly and very deeply asleep. She moved silently behind a tree with some bushes near it and swiftly removed the Stormcloak Curiass and the rags she still had underneath. They smelled of blood, smoke, sweat and dirt. Her nose cringed disapprovingly and she hastily donned some Imperial armor, just in case Ralof stirred and woke up. The armor chafed and was cold and hard, but she clenched her jaw and went over to the stream once more. While the rags had many holes and were of thin cloth, she was sure she could at least fashion them into some sort of underclothes. Her large mounds were aching from all that running and she did not look forward to another session of painful bouncing. Just as she had washed the blue cloth, she did the same to the Curiass and the rags. Once done, she had her glowing hands through the curiass's material, helping it dry faster in favor of keeping the underlying chainmail shirt from rust or any sort of damage. With a iron dagger she cut up the rags to pieces. The top she used to fashion a breast bind, which she hoped to last for at least a few days, if need be. The trousers she turned into three sets of small clothes. She kept the footwraps as they were, washing them carefully and drying them right away. She put them on and then she moved onto the fur boots.

One whiff from them had her nearly gagging. Instantly she dipped her feet into the stream and then used that opened mead bottle to scrub at the offending smell and rub in the cleansing spirits. She brought one foot to her nose with apprehension, trying to ignore the chafing and pinching from the various armor pieces. It's smelled of alcohol, which wasn't that much better, but at least she wasn't worried about finding her feet covered in moss and fungi anymore. That man, Gunjar, whose boots she was now using, had some smelly feet. Luckily, she had the thinner and less comfortable Imperial Boots at her disposal. She hoped that the Fur Boots would dry overnight and somehow be rid forever of that horrible smell. Now almost completely done with her 'laundry', Hinata removed the Imperial Armor and donned one pair of small clothes and carefully and tightly wrapped around herself the breast bindings. The pants of the Stormcloak Curiass were dry, save for the very end of the pant legs and she quickly donned them. The top piece, which was thicker and heavier was left to dry throughout the night. The thick blue cloth was almost completely dry and also warm. She took it and, along with one of the thin leather belts, fashioned something that looked like a Haori. Finally, for the first time since she woke up in this strange place, she felt somewhat clean and comfortable.

Almost by habbit, Hinata looked up at the night sky only to find it shrouded by clouds. Around what she determined to be three or four o'clock in the morning, the Kunoichi gently shook Ralof awake. He spent a few seconds staring at her changed attire and she had opted to look at her lap and to try (unsuccessfully) not to blush. Ralof looked groggy and still fairly sleepy. Once Hinata lay down upon his sleeping cot (consisting mostly of a moss carpetting), she huddled herself and was asleep as soon as she closed her eyes.

The Kunoichi woke up to the sounds of birds chirping, the sun shining and water splashing. She sat up and looked around the camp. For a moment she thought she was back home, or on a mission with her team. She looked up at the sky and noted the sun's position. It was still morning but judging by the height, it would be noon not before long. Ralof had left her to sleep, she realized. There were some more splashes and then she heard the soft thudding sounds of bare feet on the ground.

"Good morning, Hinata!" Ralof greeted. He was wet, with steam rising from him. He was wearing nothing but his pants and Hinata promptly turned deep red and fainted.

When she came to, she noticed that he was trimming lightly on his short beard, using the reflective surface of an Imperial Heavy Armor chestpiece. At least this time he was wearing his still damp Stormcloak Curiass. A rogue thought appeared in her mind – she was certain he'd rather run around naked than to wear anything remotely Empire related. She shook her head of that embarrassing notion and stood up. She readjusted her improvized blue haori.

"You should get some Robes when we get to Riverwood. You'd be a lot more comfortable in them." Ralof turned to her and said, and then went back to his shave or whatever he was trying to accomplish." There! Now I look a lot less like some kind of mass murdering bandit." He grinned at her and she giggled.

Suddenly, an arrow whizzed by and, before he could even blink, Hinata was up and by his side in that strange style of hers. Several more arrows were shot their way and she deflected them, snapping them in the process. There was some swearing and she rushed forward to the source of the sound, veins bulging at her temples. Hinata was a blur of motion and soon enough, only the sounds of chirping birds and rustling leaves could be heard.

"There are around ten more bandits further up ahead, inside some kind of abandoned mineshaft."

"The Embershard Mine. We should deal with them. Riverwood doesn't have much in terms of defense and they might be a problem in the near future."

Hinata nodded in agreement. She helped Ralof to pack up and then dislodge camp. Then the two of them headed over to the four bodies she had hidden behind a bush.

"A shield! I'll take it." He picked up the Banded Iron Shield, testing it's weight on his hand. "Very good craftsmanship, this shield. Holds well against the arm and is in good condition."

Among the things the bandits had, they looted the potions, three Iron Daggers, several lockpicks and some strange yellow substance. Cheese, Ralof had called it. It produced an offensive odour and Hinata opted to leave it to the hulky blonde.

Once at the Embershard mine, the two of them treaded very carefully. Any sound carried itself crystall clear throughout the mine's caverns and the mine itself looked rather unstable. It would not do well to get burried beneath tons of rock, Hinata had reasoned. Between their stealthy approach and the Hyuuga girl's expertly thrown daggers, the mine was soon cleared, both of the bandit danger and their loot. They now sported two large knapsacks and a brand new pair of leather boots that happened to be only slightly bigger than her size and times more comfortable and easy to move in than the Imperial Boots and Gunjar's damp Fur Boots. They were even laced up all the way up to the knee and she made sure the tightened the laces to keep her footing secure. Her only concern was that so far all of the footwear possessed rather thick soles that were unsuitable for water walking and tree walking. Her own ninja sandals were of thin soles but with a metal plate on the inside, making them both study and comfortable, and also capable of letting Chakra seep through for easier water walking and tree walking. So far she had mainly relied on her family techniques and a few survivalist techniques she had learned during her Kunoichi classes. She'd have to see to finding clothing suitable for her style of fighting.

It was two and a half hours past noon by the time Ralof and Hinata were done redistributing their loot through all the bags and packs. Ralof had opted to carry the heavier things like the weapons and armor and Hinata had gladly obligued, taking up the various nicknacks, lighter armor and what not into her share of the gear. By late afternoon, the front gate of Riverwood was finally visible.

"That mill belongs to my sister." Ralof said as they entered the small village.

"Dragon! I saw a dragon! I'm telling you, Sven, it flew over the Bleak Falls Barrows and - "

"What? What is it now, Mother?" a young man sighed exasperatedly at an elderly woman.

"It was as big as the mountain and as black as the night sky! It flew over the barrow!"

"Dragons now, is it?" the young man rubbed his face to stall off the annoyance at his mother's antics." Please, Mother. If you keep on like this everyone in this town will think you are crazy and I've got better things to do than to listen to another one of your fantasies."

"You'll see! It was a dragon! It'll kill us all and then you'll believe me!" the old woman yelled at her son who ignored her as he headed to what seemed to be the inn.

"Come on, Hinata, I want you to meet my sister." Ralof said and pulled her towards a woman dressed in a simple dress. She was working in the wood mill. "Gerdur!" The blond man waved at the woman with a smile.

"Ralof? Mara's mercy, it's good to see you!" the woman exclaimed as she embraced her brother.

She pulled away and thoughtfully looked him over.

"But is it safe for you to be here? I heard that Ulfric had been captured-"

"Gerdur, I am fine." Ralof said, but then added quietly." At least now I am."

"You look tired, brother. Are you hurt? What's happened?" her eyes shifted from his form to the blank eyed girl next to him, who had opted to stay slightly to the side and not intrude on their moment of reunion. "And who's this? One of your comrades? She doesn't look..."

"Hinata? She isn't a comrade yet, but a good friend. I owe her my life, in fact." Ralof flashed her a grin an she couldn't help but blush.

"Stop teasing the girl, Ralof. Let's get you inside, then. No point in sitting out here in the open. Hod!"

"What is it woman? Is Sven drunk on the job again?" the man working at the wood mill yelled back. Then he spotted Gerdur's brother. "Ralof! What are you doing here?" his eyes shifted between him and Hinata and a mischievous glint appeared. The Hyuuga heiress squashed the urge to groan. "Hah! I'll be right down."

"You look dead on your feet, Ralof. What's happened?"

"We'd best get inside, Gerdur. There's no telling when the news from Helgen will reach the Imperials." Ralof said quietly, brushing back his blonde hair with his hand.

"Helgen? Did something happened? Oh. You are right, of course. We're almost there."

Gerdur lead them towards their home. Hinata noticed the houses here seemed to be of the same state as the ones in Helgen, before the Dragon attack. Wood and stone and small glass windows. There was a small, simple vegetable garden on one side and a fenced area with several chickens and what seemed to be something akin to a hairy ox. She eyed the beast curiously as Ralof gently pushed her inside the house.

Once inside, she took note of the dark wooden interior. The only light came from the windows and what seemed to be a perpetually working fireplace. A small boy, no older than ten, was adding a chopped piece of firewood to the pit of the fireplace. The boy bore great resemblance to its mother, save for the darker blond coloration of his hair.

"Uncle Ralof!" the boy exclaimed jovially and jumped to hug his uncle. Seeing his Stormcloak atire, he exploded with excitement and questions, earning a quiet giggle and a smile from Hinata. "Can I see your axe? How many Imperials have you killed? Do you really know Ulfric Stormcloak?"

"Frodnar! Hush. This isn't time for your games." his mother reprimanded him and the boy, Frodnar, quickly took notice of her serious and weary expression.

"Yes, mama."

"Go and watch the south road. Come and find us if you see any Imperial Soldiers comming this way."

"But mama! I wanna stay and talk to uncle Ralof."

"Look at you! Almost a grown man! You're nearly a head taller since the last time I saw you."The Stormcloak messed Frodnar's hair affectionately." Won't be long before you'll be joining the fight yourself."

The kid's face lit up like the sun and grinned.

"That's right! Don't worry uncle Ralof! I won't let those pesky Imperial soldiers sneak up on you!" Frodnar headed for the door just as Hod entered. The boy let out a low whistle and a large shaggy dog appeared from upstairs, barking happily and following Frodnar outside. As the front door was closed once more, Hod turned to his brother-in-law.

"Now, Ralof, what's happened? You two look pretty well done in."

"Oh. Where to start, Hod. The news you heard about Ulfric being captured was true. We were ambushed outside Darkwater Crossing. Oh, thank you, Gerdur." Ralof smiled at his sister and she offered him and Hinata a cup of hot wine. "It was as if they knew exactly where we'd be. That was...two, three days ago? We stopped at Helgen yesterday morning. They had us lined up for the headsman and ready to be chopped up. Then they pulled Hinata forward and she made quick work of the headsman and the captain. One tap to the chest and that was it for them." Ralof chuckled at the memory while Gerdur and Hod eyed her weirdly. She tried hard to resist the urge to poke her index fingers. She felt being scrutinized. "But then...out of nowhere... a dragon attacked!"

"A dragon?" Gerdur frowned. "You don't mean a real...live..."

"I can hardly believe it myself and I was there!" Ralof sighed. " In the confusion we managed to slip away. Are we really the first to make it to Riverwood?"

"Nobody has come up the south road today or yesterday, as far as I know."

Ralof let out a sigh of relief.

"Good. Maybe we can lay up for a while. Gerdur, I'd hate to put your family in danger-"

"Nonsence, Ralof! You can stay as long as you like, you and your friend. Hinata, was it?" Hinata nodded with a shy smile."Let me worry about the Imperials." Gerdur turned fully to the Kunoichi. "I'd prepare some cots for you to sleep on and I'd imagine you'd want to wash up?"

"Uhm, t-thank you for your hospitality." Hinata bowed respectfully."And I would really like to wash up." she shifted uncomfortably.

"Go with Gerdur, Hinata. I'll unpack our things."

Some hour and a half later, Hinata came out of the wooden tub filled with now grimy hot water. Gerdur had given her some homemade soap, made out of local herbs and some sort of wild game fat. Hinata didn't care what it was made of, she felt clean and her hair was almost back to its usual silky, shiny state. Gerdur had commented on the almost bluish tint of her dark tresses. She had even called her as pretty as a princess, making the Hyuuga girl blush. Now dressed up in one of Gerdur's spare clothes and with hair somewhat dried and braided by Ralof's sister, the two women appeared to make supper.

Gerdur was only too glad for the help.

"Ah! Snowberries!" she had exclaimed at the small pouch."They smell fresh too. Did you pick them on your way here? Nevermind that. I shall make some of mama's berry crostata. It's Ralof's favourite, you know."

It was a pleasant experience, taking part of this normal family's home life. Ralof was sitting with Hod at the table, sharing a fine bottle or two of Blackbriar Mead and little Frodnar was playing with Stump, the family's pet dog.

"Hinata, lass, will you hand me over some of that cheese?"

"Uhm. Which one is the cheese?"

The entire household became silent and incredulous. Even the dog. A mortified blush crept its way onto Hinata's cheeks.

That night she went to bed early, feeling stuffed on bear stew, hot wine, freshly baked bread, various types of cheese and two very large pieces of Snowberry Crostata. She slept dreamlessly and woke up fresh in the morning.

_**A/N: This is all for this chapter. I hope you like it. I tried to expand a bit on Ralof's character, because he is just too awesome not to do so. I also happen to like Frodnar a lot so we might see alot of him in the next chapter. Still waiting for suggestions for what quests and people she should encounter first. Please review because I like to get feedback and I also enjoy replying to reviewers.**_

_**Speaking of encounters, she is bound to meet the infamous love triangle between Faendal, Camilla and Sven. Imagine poor, ickle Hinata, who is just so socially shy, trying to resolve people's love lives!**_


	3. Two Moons

_**A/N: I really like how I get a decent amount of reviews for this story. Yesterday I had fun levelling Hinata's sneaking, one-handed and archery skills. Faendal was very useful in that respect. I even tried my hands at sneaking pass some giants but two out of three times I ended up in orbit, so I decided to leave that for another time. Usually I don't play a rogue type of character. In fact, the ingame Hinata I made is the first one that specializes in actual assassinating . My preferrence has always been good old destruction tree with a mix of restoration. Out of the non-combat skills I chose Alchemy for Hinata. I shall see how well that goes with her. Anyways, on with the story!**_

**Chapter Two**

_**Faendal and the Golden Claw**_

Breakfast was an interesting affair, in Hinata's opinion. The whole family had woken up fairly early, a little before dawn. Gerdur had gone out in the garden to take care of it and then went on to feed the chickens and the cow. The Hyuuga girl had tried not to stare too much at the 'cow'. It looked anything but one, but she decided to keep that opinion to herself. It's milk was no different than that of the cows from home, though. Gerdur had brought in a whole bucket of milk and had poured it in some pot to boil it by the fire place. Hod had also gotten out early, returning with several fresh loaves of bread.

That morning, Hinata decided, breakfast was rich but fairly simple. There was bread and cheese, and also some of the smoked bear meat. Both men had eaten heartily, smoothing down their bites with large gulps of freshly prepared herbal tea. Gerdur had also helped herself to a piece of bread and some cheese, but had opted to have mostly porridge with milk, which was also Hinata's and Frodnar's main choice for breakfast. Stump was laying near the fireplace, gnawing on a big, meaty bone that Delphine, the innkeeper, had procured for him. Or so Gerdur had told her.

"Hinata." Gerdur called her, while wrapping up some bread, meat and cheese in some cloth. She also noticed a canteen with what she assumed was some tea."Could you be a dear and take this to Faendal? He's our local hunter and also helps out at the mill. He's been rather distracted lately and I think he might've forgotten to eat again."

"Uhm, Gerdur, how do I-"

"He's easy to spot, being the only elf in town. Either look for that or for his love sick expression." Hod laughed heartily at his wife's explanation.

Gerdur handed her the package and Hinata made her way out of the house. It was early enough and she could hear the roosters from the neighbouring houses crowing. The sun was barely poking its way over the horizon, throwing a frenzy of shimmering light and shadow spots through the trees. Despite the sunny morning, it was quite chilly and Hinata could see her breath. Before heading off, she took a slow, deep breath and exhaled contently. The scent of the air was sweet and fresh, somewhat unlike the one at Konoha's surrounding forrests, but still vaguely familiar and reminding her with a bittersweet feeling of home.

It didn't take her long to find Faendal. In fact, he was all too easy to spot with her Byakugan, seeing as he was all nervous energy and very distinctly different from the surrounding human forms. Hinata found him pacing near a tree stump, by the wood mill. He was holding some sort of letter on his hands, expression shifting between anger, hopelessness and desperation. Ocassionally he would throw a dirty look towards a small house on the other side of the street and mumble some things which a proper girl like Hinata would not care to find out or repeat.

Elves were strange creatures, the Hyuuga heiress decided. Their skins were of distinctly non-human color. The elf she had seen at Helgen was taller than the Jarl, Ulfric (who was the tallest human she had ever seen), but this particular elf was shorter than the average Nord, but still slightly taller than her. Faendal was of a tanned complexion and even so he looked somewhat pale. His eyes were dark, a very vivid brownish color. His facial features were pleasantly handsome with what she determined to be distinct elvish sharpness to hair was near shoulder lenght, straight and silvery. It was worn loose, but by his currently slightly unkempt look she guessed he hadn't had a wink of sleep last night. There was this haunted tiredness to his face that made her relate with him. Gerdur had been right in at least that – he indeed had the look of someone who was love sick. In a way, he reminded her of herself.

"Oh. Did I see you talking to Sven?" the elf had whipped so fast in her direction that she nearly jumped in fright. He spoke quickly, but with a clear voice. He glared at her for what was all two seconds after which his expression turned into something more friendly (or at least neutral). He frowned. "Hm. Maybe not. Maybe...nevermind."he shook his head thoughtfully." But I would stay away from him if I were you."

"Uhm." was Hinata's intelligent reply and almost immediately she felt embarrassment crawl its way on her cheeks, as she mentally kicked herself for lack of manners. "G-good morning. G-gerdur s-sent me to give you t-this." She nearly shoved the package and the canteen on top into his hands in her nervousness.

For a while, he just kept staring at her critically, without uttering a word. She didn't dare to look up, feeling his gaze upon her. It eerily reminded her of the way some of the Elders still looked at her. Elves, Hinata decided, had something creepily perceptive about them. Predatory intelligence, if you will. Finally, after what seemed to be forever, he spoke.

"You are not a Breton." he started, never removing his scrutinizing eyes from her."And you are not blind. You arrived yesterday with Gerdur's brother, did you not?"

Finally, Hinata gathered the courage to look up. His head was slightly cocked to one side, indicating his peaked interest. Absently, she took note of the slight circles underneath his eyes. Faendal sighed and he shifted the package to his free hand so he could look at the letter again.

"Nevermind that now. Tell Gerdur I give her my thanks." the elf sat down on the tree stump and ran his fingers through his silvery hair.

Obviously dismissed, Hinata bolted for Gerdur's house, nearly tripping over the semi-full loading cart in front of the inn. Whatever kinship she felt about Faendal, it was outmatched by her sense of discomfort. He was so..._intense_. There was no better word to describe him. She wondered what was written in that letter to make him be so... Hinata stopped in her tracks, several feet away from the gate of Gerdur's and Hod's place. No. It was completely wrong and intrusive to one person's privacy. But Faendal was so distressed about the letter and maybe she could help if she knew what was written in it. Besides, _nobody would know._

A chill ran down her spine as she tried to shove that little voice out of her mind. She was a Hyuuga and not some mingling, gossipy housewife of no consequence. She was also a ninja and ninja were curious and suspicious beings by nature. In the end, after standing frozen like that by the gate for ten minutes, said nature won over her sense of better judgement. She headed right back to the wood mill, activating her Byakugan and hoping the overly perceptive elf wouldn't notice her.

_Dearest Sven,_

_I really enjoyed that last poem you sent me. It flattered me to no end as you compared my hair to chocolate waterfalls and my skin to the softness of the pale petals of a white, moonlit rose..._

Hinata felt as her gentle heart broke over Faendal's predicament. Apparently, he was madly in love with this Camilla and he was vying for her affections along with this Sven fellow. She bit her lip as Faendal sighed sadly again, his expression absolutely crestfallen. The Hyuuga's sad eyes now gleamed with determination. She would help the elf win over Camilla. If he could do it, then so can she win Naruto over! With these thoughts in mind, she headed back, again, to Gerdur's house.

Frodnar was playing with stump by the river. Ralof was dressed in farmer's clothes and looked well rested and clean. He had tied his hair into a pony tail, though that little braid still hung to the side of his face. She smiled shily as he waved hello and grinned at her. She quickly entered the house and found Gerdur cleaning the mess the men had made at the table.

"Gerdur?" Hinata started. "What c-can you t-tell me about Camilla?"

Late morning found the Hyuuga girl cleaning up the various armors and weapons in the company of Frodnar and his dog Stump. She was sitting on a log at the back of the house, humming lightly, as her trained hands worked expertly over the various crevices and kinks of the armor pieces. Frodnar was watching her with something akin to awe and Stump was sitting beside him, lolling his tongue and doing his happy doggy grin.

"Uncle Ralof told me you killed the headsman with a single poke to the chest." he suddenly blurted, having worked up the nerve to talk to her.

Hinata stopped humming and looked at him, blinking twice.

"Uhm, y-yes I did." she replied softly and continued with her work.

"Wow! And if you poke them in the head, do their brains squirt out through their ears? That would be totally awesome!"

"Uhm. N-no. T-the enemy just d-drops dead."Hinata wondered where this line of questions was going.

"And uncle Ralof said you killed a bear with just an Iron Dagger. I saw the pelt! That bear must've been huge!"Frodnar exclaimed."Are you some kind of an assassin? Like those from the Dark Brotherhood? I mean, they'd totally kill someone with a single poke! And Faendal would be so jealous! He killed a bear once at three hundred yards during a blizzard and I bet it wasn't as big as yours! Hey! Can you teach me how to do that poke thing? I'd totally want to kill Imperial Soldiers like that!"

"Uhm. I-it's a family secret, Frod-dnar." Hinata mumbled. "It t-takes years of t-training, too."

"Aww. Maybe you can show me how to throw daggers? That would be totally awesome as well! Uncle Ralof said you killed a bunch of them Imperials with daggers to the throat. I've been begging Faendal to teach me how to use the bow, but he says I'm too young. I'm not too young to use daggers, am I? I mean, they're small and I already know how to throw, so..."

"N-no, Frodnar. I started w-when I was four."

"Sweet! So you can show me how to do it later, since you're busy right now." With a grin, Frodnar ran off to play with Stump.

Hinata could not shake the distinct feeling she had just been played into a rather elaborate verbal trap. She sighed. There was no backing out of it now, and it would probably be better if she actually did show him some throwing techniques. It would be the least she could do for the boy and his family to return their hospitality. She picked up the armor she was polishing and gave it a once-over. Satisfied with her work, she took up an Imperal Sword. She would be done in another hour or so and then she would head off to sell her goods to Lucan Valerius, the local merchant. She had a plan that had been carefully constructed after her rather lenghty chat with Gerdur about one Camilla Valerius.

Aparently, several years back, the Riverwood Trade had been owned by this very old Nord fellow. One of his children had decided he was getting too old to live on his own and had taken him to live with them in one of the farms near Whiterun. It was around that time that the Valerius siblings had appeared and with every last bit of their meager coin had managed to keep up some business within the small community of Riverwood. And it was also around that time that Sven the Bard and Faendal the Hunter had discovered they both found the younger Valerius sibling to their liking.

Camilla was a charming young thing, if a bit too stuck in the clouds sometimes. She was one to seek adventure and was also a die hard sucker for romantic poetry and novels. Gerdur described the somewhat comical at times rivalry between the two young men. But as of the last few months things had taken a more desperate turn and both Faendal and Sven were ready to do nearly anything to win Camilla's affections once and for all.

Hinata could see how Camilla found it hard to choose between the two of them. On one side there was the incredibly intense, intelligent and cunning persona of Faendal, who happened to spend a lot of time hunting for various types of wild game, sometimes returning after being missing for days with a troll skull and a sizeable amount of troll fat (an expensive commmodity). He also happened to be quite handsome in his own, elvish way and, according to Gerdur, was usually very polite and witty.

Then there was Sven, who was the typical tall and broad-shouldered Nord. Who also happened to be ridiculously good at singing and writing sickeningly sweet romantic poetry. Hinata had yet to hear him sing or to recite some of his works, and her only contact with him had been distant, as she was busy with Ralof, finding his sister.

And speaking of Ralof...

"You really did a good job with the armor and weapons. Don't let Alvor, the local blacksmith, see you, though. He'd whisk you away to make you his apprentice." the tall blond man joked as he examined one of the Imperial Swords. " These should fetch quite a good price. If there is one thing those Imperial Bastards do well, it's their smithing. Their armor is usually lighter than a Nord's, but it isn't designed to battle with the cold, nor does it withstand the steady pounding of a nice, two-hander. Their swords are of superb quality as well-"

"T-they have good b-balance and the handle is c-comfortable."

Ralof grinned.

"You really know your stuff, don't you, Hinata? You know, I've been meaning to ask you...I hope it isn't too personal or that you don't take it the wrong way... But you seem to have military training. I find that to be very strange for someone as gentle as you." His voice steadily grew from slightly teasing and cheerful to more serious. "I wouldn't be asking, but I need to know my family would be safe."

"I-I understand, Ralof."she replied softly, her eyes looking down at her hands that were already fiddling with each other nervously."I told you I-I was a ninja, r-right? And I c-come from K-konoha. Village hidden in-in the Leaves. I-it is called a hidden v-village, because it is w-where ninja live a-and train. We a-are like mercenaries b-but under the d-direct c-control of the Daimiyo, t-the leader of o-our land. W-we answer t-to the Hokage, the supreme c-commander of all ninja in a c-country and the Hokage o-only answers to the Daimiyo. Some ninja, l-like myself, come from clans. I-I am from the Hyuuga clan. W-we possess a bloodline c-called the Byakugan. Y-you a-already know w-what it does. Uhm."

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Hinata. It wasn't right of me to-"

"N-no, Ralof. It w-was the right thing to do. They are your family. I understand." She said, managing not to stutter in the end, looking him in the eyes. She would've done the same, after all.

Ralof sat next to her and remained silent for a while.

"I'm leaving for Windhelm tomorrow." he suddenly said, looking sadly at her. "I don't want to go so soon, but every moment I spend here puts Gerdur and her family in danger. Maybe when the war is over I can return without worrying about the Thalmor bursting through the door. I've told you already several times, but I really think you should join us in the fight for the Freedom of Skyrim. You're a capable woman and I'd rather have someone like you to watch my back."Ralof chuckled."Even when you are in front of me."

The effort earned him a blush and a shy smile from the Hyuuga.

"You don't have to leave with me right now, you know. I've spoken with Gerdur and she agreed to help you find your way around here for as long as you need it." the blond man tucked in one of her dark locks behind her ear and by doing so gently brushed his thumb against her burning cheeks.

She squirmed a bit, glowing a new shade of red while he chuckled. It took her ten more minutes after he left her to her own devices for the blush to recede. She wished he didn't look so much like Naruto. She also wished she knew how to tell him that she didn't like him like that. And then she'd imagine his broken, crestfallen expression and she'd feel inexplicably guilty about it. With a sigh she carefully packed the armor and weapons in bags and headed to the Riverwood Trade.

"Well, one of us has to do something!"

"We are done talking about this!"

"Well, what are you going to do then, huh? Let's hear it."

"I said no! No adventures, no theatrics and certainly NO THIEF CHASING!"

"Uhm."

"Oh, a customer. Sorry you had to hear that. What can I do for you, young lady?"

"I-I brought some armor and weapons to sell, and hopefully I c-can look at your robes." the shy girl sad softly and brought up the two bags.

Lucan Valerius was all too happy to take a look at the weapons and armor. He took his time examining each and every piece, noting down prices or if they had scratches and the like. Hinata took her time examining the shop. She had heard something about thieves but the only thing that seemed out of order was the broken lock of the front door. Lucan noticed her stare.

"Oh. Eh, we had a bit of a...break in. We still have plenty to sell, though. Apparently, the robbers were after only one thing – an ornament made of solid gold. A golden claw of ancient Nord craft." The man looked whistful while describing said artefact."Camilla here wanted to go and chase them, but these are armed bandits, and at Bleak Falls Barrows no less."

Lucan sighed and then looked at Hinata.

"I can offer you 2 300 septims for all of the armor and swords."

Hinata nodded, trying to hide her surprise at the offered amount. Ralof had told her to expect between 1000 and 1 500 septims for the entire set of gear she had cleaned, oiled and polished. Apparently she had done a good job to fetch that prize and Lucan was no push-over when it came to his job as a pawn broker and local merchant.

"Now that this is settled... Camilla, help the lady choose some robes!"

"No need to yell, Lucan, I am right over here." the young woman said as she rolled her eyes in exasperation. As the older sibling tactfully took the armor and weapons to the back room, Camilla gave Hinata a look from head to toe. "You know, Lucan can be a little thick sometimes, but he means well. Come on, let see what we can find."

Camilla pulled out a box in which there were several different types of clothes stacked.

"Why do you need robes, anyways? You don't strike me as a . This one is too light and pale and this one...brown doesn't suit you. This one is enchanted, but I doubt the ugly color is worth the price. You need something blue or... . Oh ! How about this one? It's a brand new one. No enchantments or anything. The outer tunic isn't too long and it gives a lot of room for movement, the pants are thick and keep the cold out. Also, they go marvelously with this pair of black shoes! And these gloves will keep the cold out. Oh, come on now, put them on!"

In the end, Hinata bought what Camilla had suggested and was on her way to Gerdur's home with about 1 500 septims in her coin purse. Her improvised Kunai wrappings were easily hidden by the upper tunic of the dark grayish-blue apprentice robes she was wearing. She made note to ask Gerdur about this Alvor that Ralof had mentioned. She'd need those knives and daggers sharpened, and probably a few new daggers as well.

"Hey boy. I heard you nailed a septim to Lucan's doorstep. Damn near drove him crazy. That true?"

"Yeah, so?"

Hod looked around for his wife but apparently she wasn't around. The man grinned proudly at his son and ruffled his hair.

"Ha! I knew it! Had your name written all over it, that one did!"

"That ain't nothing! Wait till you see what I've planned for next week!"

Hinata giggled, the father-son interraction reminding her of Naruto's antics. Both turned to her, surprised by her presence but then Hod grinned and Frodnar rushed at her side.

"Hinata! Can you show me how to throw daggers now? Huh? Can you?"

"Uhm. I-I need to find Faendal to speak with him and t-then I c-can give you some pointers?"

"Oh, okay. I'll be playing with Dorthe by Alvor's smithy." the boy ran off, Stump following close behind him, barking happily.

"Gerdur told me you might be planning to get Faendal and Camilla together." Hod stated seriously. "I've told that girl, Camilla, time and again _You need to choose between those two boys. It ain't fair to Sven or Faendal to keep tuggin' on their heartstrings like that." _Hod shook his head. " Camilla's a nice lass but she spends way too much time with her head in the clouds, fancying herself some sort of princess and the boys... meh. I'd usually say that one should stick to their own, but Faendal is a fair and hardworking lad and Camilla would do better with him. Sven's taken too much after his own father, and that ain't a good thing, let me tell you that. But listen to me, rambling on about people like some gossipy wife. You'd better go talk to Faendal. He's cutting wood right now, by the wood mill."

Hinata thanked Hod for his time and went for the wood mill. She found the elf easily enough, chopping wood just as Gerdur's husband said he would.

"Uhm. F-faendal? C-can I talk to you for a m-minute?" Hinata started nervously.

The elf placed another log and chopped it into two with ease. He put away the two pieces and finally looked at her.

"The not-Breton. Hinata was it? Gerdur mentioned you'd be staying with her family for a few days." she had his full attention, which unnerved her to no end."You said you wanted to talk? Well then, speak."

Hinata blushed at his tone and looked down at her fiddling hands. She took a deep breath and prepared herself as best as she could.

"IknowhowtomakeCamillachoosey ou." she blurted out rapidly, mortified at the thought that he might end up insulted by her mindling. Hinata half hoped she hadn't understood what she had said.

"Oh? Let's hear it then."

Hinata wasn't one to swear, but had she been...well..._fuck._

"U-uhm. S-some b-bandits stole a g-golden c-claw a-and C-camilla w-wanted t-to go and g-get it. B-but i-if you g-go t-then...I-I t-thought t-that m-maybe...uhm..." She blushed a darker shade of crimson and the words died out in her mouth. She took another deep breath. "Iwashopingyou'dcomewithmetoBleakFallsBarro wsandgetthegoldenclawback."

She bit her lower lip, trying to calm her nerves. Faendal blinked once. Twice. Then, slowly, his eyes brightened and a very small smile stretched upon his lips.

"If I bring back the golden claw and then Camilla would...but that would mean...and then...Oh. That's a brilliant idea! Why didn't I think of it sooner? And here I was busy forging a letter. What are we waiting for? I'll go get my armor and my bow and arrows. Wait for me by the other side of town, by the bridge. I will be there shortly."

Hinata nodded, not trusting herself to speak again. As Faendal went to get his gear, so did she went to Gerdur's house to prepare a few bags, some potions and maybe some food, just in case.

"Oh, Hinata? Where are you going?" Ralof asked, comming from upstairs, after hearing the door open and get shut.

"Uhm. B-bleak Falls B-barrows. F-faendal a-and I are getting the g-golden c-claw back for Camilla." she explained, while figuring out how and where to attach the various pouches and the big knapsack.

"Bleak Falls? I'll come with you."

And before she could say anything, Ralof was already attaching pouches of his own and taking up a shield and his trusty Stormcloak War Axe.

_**888**_

"Ralof? I didn't think you'd still be around." Faendal said while shaking hands with the blond Nord. "So, what brings you with us? Other than keeping the not-Breton girl safe, that is."

"Hah. You've always had a bit of a mouth on you. I'll be leaving tomorrow and, to be honest, I don't want to miss out on the fight." Ralof grinned at the Elf."And Hinata here will probably have you eat your words. Right, lass?" He winked at the pale kunoichi and she turned slightly pink at his antics.

"Don't tease the-, ah, Hinata. She is shy and I doubt Gerdur would be pleased, either." Faendal said sternly and seriously, as the three of them headed for Bleak Falls Barrows.

Not too far away, two pairs of eyes watched curiously.

"So, that's Hinata." Dorthe said sceptically. "She doesn't look like much. And your Uncle is all over her."

"I'm not lying! Uncle Ralof said she poked a man in the chest and he died! Come on! Let's follow them. They are going to fight bandits at the Bleak Falls Barrows and I bet she's going to kick ass!"

"Fine, but if your Uncle or that Wood Elf end up saving her, I get to tell you _I told you so."_

_**888**_

"The wind's picking up. Let's hope the weather persists and there isn't a blizzard." Faendal said as he readjusted his fur cloak.

"There's the old Imperial Watch Tower up ahead. Hinata, can you check if there are any bandits?" Ralof turned to the kunoichi and she nodded.

Faendal was just about to say that it would be unwise to do so when the petite pale girl suddenly exclaimed _Byakugan _and the veins on her temples bulged.

"One armed with a two-handed hammer resting by a tree, next to the bridge. Male, average height, favors his right side. Female with a longsword, also armed with a longbow and...18 arrows. Has a dagger hidden in her left boot. She's resting by the entrance of the tower and talking with target number three. Male, tall, heavily armored, possesses a sword and a shield. Fourth target is male and at the top of the tower, observing the surrounded area. Hasn't spotted us yet, also heavily armored and bearing a two handed sword. There is a chest there and something is glowing in it. Unable to determine what."

Ralof looked particularly smug at Faendal's awestruck expression.

"That is useful." the elf finally stated. "Very, very useful."

Hinata released her eye-technique and the veins receded.

"That isn't any normal magical ability. And your eyes...That is hereditary, is it not? Simply fascinating."

"Y-you're very observant, Faendal." Hinata finally said, as the three of them crept closer and closer to the tower. Thankfully, the wind had mostly died down and it wasn't shoving snow particles into their eyes. That, however, also meant that they could not use the snow gusts for additional cover and Ralof's Stormcloak Curiass and heavy shield did not make it any more easier for them to sneak.

"I think I can take out the bandit by the tree from this distance. As long as the wind doesn't pick up again." Faendal said quietly and in one swift motion took out a steel arrow and set it on his bow. He aimed carefully and he was about to unleash the arrow when there was a loud dog yelp and two child-like screams not too far away from them. Apparently, the Bandits had heard the sounds as well, as the bandit by the tree drew out his huge hammer and the only woman present prepared her bow. An arrow whizzed by Faendal's cheek as Hinata activated her Byakugan.

"Frodnar!" she exclaimed with sudden alarm and darted to the children's location.

Another arrow whizzed and Ralof used his shield to block it. He did not wait for the bandit with the hammer to come any closer, and as her lifted his two-handed weapon, the Stormcloak smashed his shield into his torso, forcing him to stagger backwards. With a swift hacking movement, he slashed the man's throat with his axe, leaving him on the ground, gurgling and bleeding to death. The bandit woman was almost dancing around Faendal's arrows, showing a lot more fighting aptitude than her now dead comrade. The third bandit was upon Ralof as the woman decided to attack Faendal in a melee fashion, bandishing her one-handed longsword. Anticipating her move, the Wood Elf took out his Iron Dagger and parried as best as he could. The longsword, while quite worn, was well kept and of superior quality. Faendal was well aware that any slash would be enough to break his dagger. He needed to do something, and quick. A quick side glance to Ralof revealed that the Nord wasn't fairing any better against his opponent, who was also wielding a shield and a sword. And quite expertly too.

"Urgh!" the woman suddenly grunted, as a knife lodged itself to the side of her throat. Faendal lost no time and picked up her longsword, shoving it down her chest with one clean, smooth move. In the spand of a few seconds, he watched in awe as the otherwise shy and timid girl took on the last bandid with nothing but her bare hands.

"Gentle Fist 8 Trigrams 64 Palms!" she intoned, the veins around her eyes bulging. Her fingers literally glowed in a pale, slightly bluish light. Faendal wondered if the girl was out of her mind. And then she intoned: "Two Palms! Four Palms! Eight Palms! Sixteen Palms! Thirty-Two Palms! Sixty-Four Palms!"

Her hands shot out so fast that they were practically blurrs, even to his acute elven sight. The man stood paralized for a few moments, then he coughed out blood and fell to the side, dead before he even reached the ground. The Bandit with the shield had turned only for a second but that was all Ralof needed to shove his axe into his neck, separating the head from the body in one swift, but bloody strike.

Hinata let out her breath and her strange stance loosened. The veins around her eyes receded and she turned around to face Ralof and Faendal. Or that's what the elf thought she did. When he followed his gaze, he saw the two children and the dog he had heard earlier.

"Frodnar, Dorthe!" he exclaimed sternly, glaring at them both. Ralof's own glare was no less intense."What in the name of the Nine possessed you to follow us up to the Barrows?"

"If your mother sees you here, Frodnar, she'd skin us **both** alive! And Dorthe! I thought you were the sensible one!"

Dorthe looked properly abashed but Frodnar was too busy staring dreamily at the three of them, nothing on his mind but their impressive battle.

"Uncle Ralof! You chopped that man's head clean off! That was SO AWESOME! And Hinata! She poked a whole pack of wolves to death in the blink of an eye and-"

"Frondar, Dorthe, you will go back to Riverwood immediately. Do you have any idea what would've happened if we hadn't heard you and Hinata hadn't come to your rescue? You two are in so much trouble-"

"Mister Ralof, please don't tell father or mother! I promise I'll keep Frodnar away from such ideas, just please don't tell them! We're sorry! We really are." the girl, Dorthe, pleaded.

Faendal shook his head and Ralof sighed. Kids these days. At least he knew he could count on Dorthe to keep her word.

"Very well. I won't say anything to your parents or Gerdur." the children looked relieved, but he wasn't finished. "BUT! You will help Gerdur at the mill or Alvor at the smithy. This isn't some game you know. You could've died. Look at Stump, the poor sod. Do you want him to die because of your little 'fun' games?"

Both children shook their heads no, shame clear on their faces.

"I'm sorry." Frodnar mumbled, trying not to cry.

"No one got hurt, so it is quite allright. I believe you've learned your lesson."Faendal said and then turned to Ralof." I'll make sure the kids do as they're told. Well, you better be off now. We've still to reach the Barrows and we've lost enough daylight as it is."

The two children ran off down the road, along with Stump and the three of them watched their descent until they could no longer be seen. After rummaging through the tower and discovering a nice frost enchanted short sword (which Faendal took in lieu of his earlier encounter), they headed out.

"We'd best hurry up. Let's go, Faendal, Hinata." Ralof took the lead up the snowy road to the Bleak Falls Barrows.

There they were met by several bandits, most of them archers and a single one wielding a heavy two-handed axe. As they quietly entered the temple itself, they made note of the numerous freshly killed bodies of skeevers and also one dead, heavily bitten all over, bandit. There was a fire cackling at the other side of the hall and Hinata informed them there was a man and a woman there. With two swift and accurate arrows, Faendal made quick work of them.

"There is a locked chest here." Ralof said as he finished looting the bodies of anything useful.

"I'll take care of it." Hinata said and activated her Byakugan. She shoved two glowing fingers at the lock and it made a distinct clicking sound. And extremely useful technique, but one that literally killed the lock for any further uses. Sadly enough, they only got a Potion of minor healing and about fifty septims.

As they made their way quietly through the temple, they saw a man, another bandit, standing by a lever of some sort. Silently, Hinata prepared one a dagger and activated her Byakugan. The man, however, pulled the lever and suddenly mechanisms from all about the chamber started moving, visible only to her all seeing gaze, and small poisoned darts started shooting out from all directions. With a pained grunt, the man fell to the floor, dying quickly from the large amounts of poison. Hinata lowered the dagger and turned off the Byakugan. Faendal and Ralof shared a look as the kunoichi tenderly approached the body.

"T-there is an entire complex m-mechanism all around us in-in the walls. It is c-connected to the gate ahead of us and t-these pillars over here." Hinata said as she approached the three pillars. She stared at them for a while and then Activated her Byakugan again. Faendal and Ralof watched her as she slowly turned each of the pillars untill they were positioned in a snake-snake-whale configuration. Her gaze was oddly intense, almost unseeing in the way she was glaring.

"She's looking at everything and everywhere at once." Faendal mumbled, fascinated by his realization."She really is all-seeing."

Ralof merely nodded in acknowledgement to his words.

"You c-can pull the lever now." she said as she turned aroud, veins receding once more. As Ralof pulled the lever, Faendal spoke to her.

"This room was designed as a puzzle" he pointed towards the head statues with the animal symbols, including the one that had crumbled next to the lever. As the door opened and no darts pelted their bodies, the three of them moved on to the next room, as cautious as ever.

"Someone has been through here." Faendal finally spoke, taking note of his surroundings.

"H-hai."Hinata agreed, her ninja training not leaving her far behind the elf's observations.

"I don't like this place. It's too quiet." Ralof finally said, after entering yet another devoid of life room.

"Hmm..."the Hyuuga heiress activated her Byakugan once more, opting to leave it on for longer this time. "there are t-three small specks of life b-beneath us, down the spiral stairs. I t-think they're sk-keevers?"

Ralof and Faendal nodded as the former took out his axe and shield, while the latter prepared his new, enchanted sword. Ralof took the first rodent with a shield bash and a well-aimed stab. Faendal took out the second one by cleaving it in two with a single swish. The third ran past the men and aimed a pouce at Hinata, who easily sidestepped and poked it at the side of its neck. A nasty crunch resounded and it lay dead on the ground.

"T-there is a man ahead. N-no. An elf. I think?" her glaring eyes took on a spark of uncertainty. "I also see a spider. A big one. It's lying in wait on the ceiling. It's using the elf as a bait."

"That...is a big spider." Ralof stated as he hefted up his shield higher and tightened his grip on his axe. He dashed forward as the Wounded Frostbite Spider lunged for him, only for its mandibles to clash with his shield. It screeched as Faendal's flurry of arrows hit their mark. Hinata rushed past the two men and went for the web-trapped elf.

"Thank Arkay! I'd thought I'd never make it out of here alive!" the dark colored elf exclaimed as she nimbly slashed at the thick webbings keeping him in place."Now hurry up and get me free before that damn spider turns around and tries to eat me!"

"Damn spider!" Ralof shouted as he brought down his axe upon its head, killing it. "I really hate spiders."

"Ha! I'm free! Sorry, but i have a treasure to get to – Ack!"Arvel the Swift, as previously web-trapped elf was known, tried to make a dash for it, only to find himself at the mercy of Hinata's powerful Chakra pokes. "Bloody bitch, what did you do to me! I can't move my legs and arms!"

"He has t-the golden c-claw." Hinata stated as she removed it from the sputtering elf. "D-don't worry, Elf-san, t-the p-paralysis will wear off in several hours." the Kunoichi stated as she gently positioned his limbs in a more comfortable position.

"That is useful. Very, very useful." Faendal exclaimed, amusement evident in his voice.

"Should we get back? We have the golden claw." Ralof asked.

"Uhm. T-there is something up ahead. "she looked in a certain direction at a wall, eyes squinting as she concentrated on her vision. "It's at the edge of my d-divination field, b-but I c-can make out a wall. With glowing words. I-I think they're words."

Ralof and Faendal shared a look again.

"We can continue on, if you like. We got so far, why not go through it all, then?" Faendal said and Ralof agreed.

"Hey! You're not leaving me here like thi-" Alver tried to complain, but Hinata pinched him at the base of his throat.

"Sleep, Elf-san."

"These are the burial chambers?" Faendal guessed as he looked at the various symbols and signs carved in the stone walls.

"Aye. Ancient Nord Burial grounds." Ralof explained as he looked at the well preserved state of the various bodies. "Would you look at that armor." He whispered as his hand rose to touch the surface of the finely crafted metal piece."

"Grr!" the eyes of the dead body opened and one hand grasped tightly around Ralof's arm.

"DRAUGR!" Ralof yelled as he hacked away at the undead creature with his axe.

Suddenly, bodies started rising all around them. Hinata's eyes widened as she realized she couldn't see them through the Byakugan.

"Hinata!" Faendal yelled as he whooshed past her with his enchanted sword and slammed it firmly into the head of the draugr behind her.

They were too many. Hinata deactivated her Byakugan and took a deep breath.

"Run upstairs! Now!" the kunoichi yelled as she prepared her Gentle Fist Stance."Go!"

"Damn it, Hinata!" Ralof yelled at her.

"I don't want to hurt you, just GO."

Faendal grabbed the shouting Nord and pulled him away as much as he could.

"KAITEN!" the pale girl almost screamed as almost all of the Draugr were nearly upon her. She started spinning. Really fast. And then she was surrounded by whisps of that pale white-blue light. The light intensified and for a few seconds Faendal and Ralof could see nothing but the light. And then there was the screeching sound of ripped metal, the sound of metal against metal, metal against hard stone, bones cracking, dry flesh ripping... then the light faded and all was silent, except for a dull thud and the heavy panting of a girl.

"Hinata!" Ralof yelled in alarm as he saw her collapsed form in the middle of a whirwind of dead body parts.

"I-I'm allright." she said meekly as she squeezed her eyes shut. "I-I need a m-moment."

Her head was spinning and she was pretty certain she'd need a Magicka potion or two.

"You should stop saving me, Hinata. I'm supposed to be the big strong Nord." Ralof chuckled, albeit it was strained, and he brushed away some of the stray strands of hair that were upon her face.

Faendal moved on ahead.

"There are quite a few traps here, be very careful where you step." He cautioned, as he gingerly sidestepped any loose plates on the ground. Going even further ahead, he saw a corridor with swiping blades trap. Moving swiftly, having timed the movement of the blades, he made it unscathed to the other side and deactivated the trap.

Ralof and a rather unsteady looking Hinata catched up with him as another wave of draugr were upon them.

"Sit this one out, Hinata." Ralof said and helped her sit down by one of the stone coffins.

Faendal noticed that Ralof was now sporting a new axe, or, rather, an Ancient Nord War Axe. The draugr in this room were a lot less numerous than the one in the first. As they moved forward, Hinata cautioned to be wary of the oily liquid that was splattered on places on the floor and also of the precariously hanging oil lamps above their heads. As they progressed, Hinata's step became more steady and soon enough they found themselves in a cavern-like area with blue glowing mushrooms. The Kunoichi took interest in the and harvested almost all of them. Among the ruins of the temple they found several gems, various ancient rings, ear pieces and other jewelry, some in better condition than others. Faendal was particularly satisfied by a jeweled golden necklace, which he immediately claimed for Camilla, along with two matching golden rings that they had stumbled upon earlier. For himself, the elf took an Ancient Nord bow, along with a set of Ancient Nord Arrows. His own bow was better, but he liked the idea of having this one gracing the wall beside his fireplace as a memento of this adventure. It was only a bonus that it happened to be enchanted with fire damage.

"You could make instant dinner with that one! One shot and wham! Instant roast rabbit!" All three had laughed heartily at Ralof's joke, though Hinata's version of a hearty laugh was more of a melodic giggle.

Finally, the three of them approached a closed gate. It was easy enough to guess how to open it, as the correct combination of symbols was etched onto the bottom part of the golden claw. Hinata, however, said that, with her Byakugan she would've been able to pass by the locking mechanism of the gate. At that, Faendal had amusingly remarked that she would make the greatest thief since the infamous Gray Fox of legend. Ralof had given him a dirty look at that comment.

"Is that the wall you spoke of?" Ralof asked as they entered the final chamber of the Bleak Falls Inner Sanctum.

Hinata nodded as she strained to hear better the very faint sounds of...chanting?

"Ano... d-do you hear that?" she asked, looking at both of the men.

"I don't hear anything except for the bats." Faendal immediately exclaimed, looking as confused as Ralof. He was certain she was not talking about the bats.

"It's like ... chanting." she mumbled as she approached the wall.

"There is a coffin here, might be another Draugr" Ralof stated.

"C-can't you hear it? It's so loud." the kunoichi exclaimed as she traced the cuneiform script.

_Here lies the Guardian_

_Keeper of the Dragonstone_

_and a **FORCE **of eternal_

_rage and darkness._

_"_Fus..." she mumbled and at the same time something kicked out the heavy stone lid of the coffin.

"**Ro...Dah!**" the massive draugr hissed and an invisible force slammed all three of them painfully into the wall.

"Ungh!" Hinata cried out as she felt one of her shoulders getting dislodged.

"Argh!" Ralof was first on his feet as he body-slammed into the heavily armored Drauger, forcing it to stagger backwards. But as he was about to shove his axe into the Draugr's neck, the undead creature kicked him in the chest. Faendal, finally on his feet, fired several arrows in quick succession and then took out his sword and flanked the creature.

Hinata activated her Byakugan again. Her shoulder was definately dislodged and she also sported several cracked ribs, making breathing somewhat painful. At least they weren't completely broken. The Kunoichi stood up rather tentively and then slammed herself into the cuneiform script wall, forcing her Humerus back into position. Very painful but effective. She then uncorked one of the remaining Healing Potions and gulped down the disgusting liquid as quick as she could. She threw the empty glass bottle to the side and rushed into the battle, slashing the Draugr at its joints and its neck. Faendal dealt the final blow as he managed to shove his swords through the undead creature's chest from behind. With a heavy grunt, the elf pulled out the sword and the dead body fell limply to the ground.

"That Draugr...it _shouted._ Like the Greybeards...like Jarl Ulfric. That was a shout!" Ralof rambled on in excitement and awe. And shock. For a while he just stood there, staring at the undead thing they had just defeated. Suddenly, he started laughing like a maniac. " My brothers and sisters...haha! At Windhelm! Oh, Talos! They'd never believe me when I tell them we dispatched a huge Draugr that could shout! Oh, this is going to be quite the story to tell the future generations!"

"You can take its armor as proof." Faendal suggested, prodding at the huge corpse with his boot." He's a bit larger than you, so the armor would definately fit. Hmm. Hinata, can I borrow your steel dagger for a second?"

It took Faendal the better part of an hour to remove the armor of the creature by releaving it of its arms and other body parts. In the end, he was pretty proud of his handy work, Ralof was pretty disturbed and Hinata had opted to look at the pretty stone plate at the bottom of the coffin for the sake of her own gentle psyche. But she had to hand it to the elf. He had a very clinical approach to the whole... dispatching process.

"I think Alvor can fix the huge holes on both sides. What do you think, Ralof? Ah, Ralof?" Faendal looked at the Blond Nord to see him staring with a pale face at the hand the elf had thrown absently to the side. Its palm was lying on his boot. "Oh, for the love of... it's just an arm, Ralof."

Hinata actually giggled at that, despite the horridness of it all, or, perhaps, because of it.

"Uhm, c-can I take this stone p-plate with us?" the kunoichi pointed at it.

"Oh, of course, Hinata. Let me carry it, though. It looks heavy." Ralof immediately picked it up and gently wrapped it in the old linen cloths lying about the coffin."Looks secure enough to me. Okay, let's head out before it gets too cold outside. It's probably already dark."

In only a matter of a few minutes, the three of them were at the exit.

"Ah, at least the sky is clear tonight. Imagine trying to get this load to Riverwood in complete darkness, eh Hinata?" Ralof commented, but his words went unnoticed by the Hyuuga girl.

"Hinata, is everything allright?" Faendal was first to notice that she was staring unblinkingly, with wide horrified eyes at the sky, quickly beginning to hyperventilate.

"Hinata!" Ralof cried out in alarm as she collapsed to her knees, crying, whimpering, shivering violently.

The Blond kneeled and grasped Hinata's shoulders, squeezing them gently and calling out her name. She was unresponsive, not even registering neither his attempts nor those of Faendal's to get her out of her sudden state of shock.

"Two moons!" she suddenly croaked out through sobs, then rambled on in her native tongue. Ralof embraced her tightly, gently rocking her back and forth, trying desperately to understand what was going on.

Beside them, Faendal stood as still as a rock, hand covering his mouth and his vividly colored eyes wide with his terrifying realization.

"Hinata, please tell me what's wrong!" Ralof pleaded again.

"T-two moons! Two moons, Ralof!" she sobbed. " I-I'll never go h-home!NEVER!"

"Hinata calm down!" came Faendal's cold and sharp voice."Look at me, girl. Ralof, let her go. She needs to get over her shock. Hinata, I said look at me!"

He shook her violently and then forced her face to meet his eyes.

"You are not alone, Hinata! We are here. I want you to breathe in slowly and then breathe out. Stay with me, Hinata. Ralof, give me the canteen."

The elf spashed the cool liquid on her face and then gently slapped her.

"We will get home, Hinata! Stop crying, woman! This will not get you back to your world. If there is a way to get you here, then there is a way to take you back home as well. Get yourself together or are you **giving up**!?"

Faendal's steely words finally got to her and she blinked. Her face was red and her eyes were puffy from the crying. She wiped at her tears and then she frowned at the elf.

"I'll never give up!" she stated with determination and then wiped her face again. "L-let's go."

Not a word was uttered on the way back.

After a late night dinner at Gerdur and Hod's home, Faendal went to his home, but not before giving Hinata a reasurring smile. As the rest prepared to bed, Gerdur could not help but notice the Hyuuga's strange mood. When she asked her brother about it, he explained that there was nothing they could do, except giving their support.

"Please Gerdur, I know it may be too much to ask, but let her stay as long as she wants to. She has nowhere else to go."

Somehow Gerdur knew that Ralof was not just repeating himself. There was this desperation in his eyes that spoke silent volumes about what had transpired in the Bleak Falls Barrows.

"I already told you that I will, Ralof. Don't you worry about that." with that, Gerdur went to sleep.

"Hinata, are you awake?" the blond Nord whispered.

"I-I am." she replied quietly, her voice slightly hoarse. Ralof sadly reflected that she was crying again.

"You've been crying again." he said softly.

"I-it's just t-that I-I'll never see them again." she sobbed quietly."F-father, my sister Hanabi, m-my cousin N-neji...M-my team, Shino, K-kiba and K-kurenai-sensei. A-and Naruto-k-kun. I-I'll never see _him_ again."

As she shook with her quiet sobs, Ralof felt as if someone splashed him with cold water. Of course, she had someone in her heart. Feeling incredibly sad and somewhat guilty of his behavior, Ralof gently placed an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his chest, gently rocking her back and forth.

"Shh..." he whispered in her hair." It's okay to cry. Let it all out. It's okay to cry, but not okay to cry all the time, you know?" he joked gently as his fingers ran through her hair. His effort was rewarded with a weak giggle. He smiled at her. "You are a strong girl, Hinata. Strong and gentle, and smart. You will find your way back home. I am sure of it. And then you will be back to that Naruto of yours and if he isn't waiting for you then I will come there and kick his ass into Oblivion."

And despite herself, Hinata giggled again.

"Y-you're a g-good person, Ralof." She whispered as she wiped her tear streaked face.

The blond man grinned at her and then kissed the side of her forehead before letting her go.

"Go to sleep Hinata. I don't want you to be groggy when I leave tomorrow."

"Good night, Ralof-kun." Hinata mumbled sleepily.

"Goodnight, little princess." Ralof mumbled back, and soon both were asleep on their cots.

The next morning they woke up early and the entire household had a rich, filling breakfast. With cheerful laughs and lots of smiles, Ralof said farewell to his sister and her family. Finally, he turned to Hinata and pulled her into a bear hug and off the ground, making her blush prettily.

"Oh, and one more thing before I leave!" he said and swiftly leaned down to her face and stole a kiss before she realized what happened.

With a high-pitched eep, and face as hot as the sun, her pale lavender eyes rolled back into their sockets and she fell unconscious into Hod's hands.

"RALOF, YOU DIRTY PIG!" his sister screeched after him, as he laughed heartily, a pretty pink blush marring his own face. Now he would go to Windhelm, knowing he had kissed the prettiest girl of two worlds.

_**A/N: I hope you like this chapter. I particularly like Faendal's analytical mind and dry humor. Ralof is quite the flirt and Camilla is a happy-go-lucky oooh!butterflies person. Next chapter we go to Whiterun with Faendal, avoid Sven like the plague and so on and so on. OH! AND LYDIA! We love Lydia. Nuff said! Now read and review to help me sprout those chappies faster than a skeever on a breeding frenzy.**_


	4. The Run to Whiterun

_**A/N: Wowzah! So many reviews in so little time! Well, according to my Story Stats, this is currently my most popular story, followed not so closely by my longest one : Moons of Red. I want to thank all of you awesome people for reviewing and making me happy about my work being appreciated and what not. So, here we are, getting ready to write and upload chapter three, which will be just as fun as the previous chapters. And, of course, Faendal will be in it. Enjoy!**_

_**Update: My silly lap top is a bit old and has power cable problems. Aside from that, I couldn't access my writing files for weeks but I think that you'd like this chapter, folks. **_

**Chapter Three**

_**The Run to Whiterun**_

"Hold the handle j-just so." Hinata adjusted Frodnar's hand yet again. He was catching on quickly though, and while daggers and Kunai had completely different way of wielding, that fact didn't pose a problem for a Chuunin like Hinata.

Dorthe was sitting not too far away on a tree stump, playing with, eh, Stump. Hod and Gerdur were working, as usual, but they also stole glances in their direction whenever possible. Frodnar was making the cutest concentrated face Hinata had seen in a while and it was hard at times to stiffle her giggles. Despite being somewhat too enthusiastic and excited in his approach, he was a diligent student. So far. The Hyuuga had been working with him since late morning and he was finally starting to show some fatigue.

"Interesting technique. Focuses on throw strenght rather than accuracy." Faendal suddenly spoke behind her. His steps and movements had been their usual quiet selves, but a trained Chuunin like the Hyuuga heiress had no problem discerning them from the wind, the rustling of leaves, the happy gurgling noises of the nearby river, and , last but not least, from Frodnar's frustrated yells.

"Hello, Faendal-san."She greeted softly. "T-that's how I was trained at first. He needs to get u-used to the throw before concentrating on a-accuracy."

"I see. Yet you haven't explained that to the boy. Interesting approach." Hinata was certain there was a small smirk playing on the elf's lips as he watched the child struggle with hitting the tree not too far away from him. "He hasn't just thrown knives all day. He looks quite worn out."

"I-I've been showing him some e-exercises to build up his stamina."

Faendal made a non-commital noise in his throat, his cunning eyes keeping a close watch on the boy's movements. He stood completely still, which Hinata noted was typical for predators, and the only movement he exhibited was the slight movement of his chest while breathing and his eyes following Frodnar's throws. Hinata also noted he was dressed in his leather armor and also had prepared his bow and his enchanted sword.

"A-are you going somewhere, Faendal-san?" she asked curiously.

The elf sharply turned to her and nodded.

"Alvor the Blacksmith has asked me to deliver a message to the Jarl of Whiterun. I thought you'd like to accompany me on the way." Faendal explained with his typical quick way of speaking.

"Uhm, let me a-ask Gerdur. She did m-mention something about a message to the Ja-Jarl as well."Hinata said and then turned to Frodnar and told him that was enough for the day and that he could take a break now. The boy was too happy to go and play with his friend Dorthe and his faithful dog Stump.

With an internal sigh, the pale girl went over to Gerdur. She didn't need to ask for permission, but she felt it more appropriate and polite to do so, since she'd be leaving some of her things at her house for the time being.

"Message to the Jarl you say? Hm. I was going to ask you to warn him about the dragon attack upon Helgen., so I don't see why not have you go as well. We don't know if that wretched beast would decide and swoop down upon us defenseless people of Riverwood. And we don't have any hidden passages to hide in or escape through." The Nord woman sighed. "It's strange though. Alvor recieved a letter via a courier this morning while I had been there, delivering hardwood for some shields he had to work on. He looked alarmed for a moment and then he just... hm. It's best you go with Faendal. He probably knows what to do and Alvor's family are known Empire supporters."

Hinata's eyes widened.

"Uhm, will-will you be safe while I-I'm gone?"she asked worriedly.

"Don't worry about us, Hinata. Riverwood's a small community and we look out for each other. You should be worrying about yourself. Come on. I will help you pack for your journey to Whiterun. The road there is rough at first, as it is quite steep. But once you reach the farmlands, it is a straight trek to the Hold."

Several hours later found Hinata and Faendal going down a steep, stone paved road. On one side there was the thickly forested slope of the mountain, going up into jagged peaks and snowy tops. On the other side, facing downwards, was the view of farmland and near naked hills with hints of shrubbery, flowers and short grass, spreading as far as the eyes could see. The road took another sharp 180 degree turn and it was not too soon that the two of them were finally off the mountainous area.

It was a sunny, near cloudless day but the chill in the air was more than what Hinata was used to. Even with her thick robes she still shivered uncomfortably. She could make out the Whiterun Hold in the distance and she resolved herself to move faster towards their destination. The kunoichi looked at Faendal and noticed how the elf paid little to no attention to the cold. He was used to it, it seemed, but she liked to believe that Camilla was also partly to blame for his current jovial and invigorated state. There was a very light smirk marring his face and his vivid dark eyes were clear and happy. He held himself high, with a straight back and a she could swear there he had spring in his steps. She smiled to herself softly, happy for his predicament.

"Hinata, do you see that house over there?" Faendal suddenly pointed to the west. She followed his gaze and gesture and her pale eyes landed on what seemed to be a rather large house near the road. "That over there is the Honningdew Meadery. We can rest there and grab a bottle of Mead for the road ahead."

Hinata agreed but only because Faendal was enthusiastic about it. He did not seem the type to get easily tired on the road and neither was she, seeing as she had shinobi training. But maybe some of that Nord eagerness for alcohol had rubbed off on him. She liked that idea. Hinata imagined herself becoming accustomed to this constant drinking and then returning home. Her father would have this look on his face and...

"Try not to think so much about it, Hinata. We will find a way to send you home." Faendal spoke again, placing a hand on her shoulder.

The Hyuuga blinked once in his direction, for a second wondering if Faendal could read minds. But then she realised that she herself was very open with her emotions, something that was not looked well upon by other ninja. She acknowledged his comment with a nod and not too soon followed him inside the Brewery.

The first thing that came to her mind was how warm it was inside the building. She could hear the faint humm of the various activities going on around her and while Faendal made their order, she chose a table and placed her bag on one of the chairs.

"Here. Taste this. It's one of Honningdew's finest." The wood elf grinned at her as he handed her a tankard and poured some of the bottle's contents. "Cheers."

Hinata stiffled a giggle as he downed the contents in one go. There was something incredibly funny and endearing in the pragmatic and no-nonsence elf as he happily downed his mead. She believed he was celebrating his blooming relationship with Camilla.

"Once we get to Whiterun we will first go to the inn and secure some rooms for the night. We could try and make the trek to Dragonsreach and then back to Riverwood in one go, but I doubt you'd want to hurry like that. It's going to be cold tonight and the winds down here to the north can be even harsher than the weather at the mountain slopes."

The rest at the Honningdew's turned out to be quite the welcome stop. The mead kept her warm and she could feel herself slightly giddy with the effects of the spirits. It was a pleasant feeling, especially when faced with more of Skyrim's cold air and occasional chilly gushes of wind. The land itself was surprisingly enough rich on low growing flowers and bushes. Every now and then she'd stop and pick up some Lavender or Tundra Cotton.

"Lavender makes you happy." Faendal commented, after observng her antics for a while.

Hinata smiled shily at him and carefully put away the picked flowers. It was true. Lavender was one of her favourite flowers. Her mother always used to compare her to it and anytime she'd take a whiff of its scent she'd remember her mother's soft and loving smile.

"L-lavender r-reminds me of Kaa-san, o-of my m-mother."

Suddenly, Faendal's attention was turned forward, quite a way ahead of them. Hinata followed his gaze and activated her Byakugan.

"W-what is that?"

"Giant, Hinata. Quickly! We must help."

The Wood Elf rushed forward, his intense gaze never leaving the huge creature as he pulled out his bow and prepared an arrow. There were several people there already, Hinata noted.

"Look out!"Yelled a tall woman wielding a bow and with loose red hair.

The giant swung with his massive club. Men and women scurried away from the weapon's range and, as the giant slowly prepared for another strike, they moved into their attacking formation again.

A tall, dark-haired man wielding a large two-handed sword swung away at the giant's legs earning an enraged roar from the creature. It brandished its humongous club and brought it down upon where the man had been a mere moment ago. The woman bearing a one-handed sword and a shield used the distraction to stab at its knees but only to be swatted away with one hand by the giant.

"Ria!" the dark-haired man yelled as he danced around the giant's swings.

The woman landed not too far away and Hinata immediately turned her Byakugan to her. She was badly wounded but alive and unconscious.

"She's alive, s-seven broken ribs and b-sroken left arm. Right ankle is t-twisted. Possible heavy concuss- ah!" Hinata gingerly dodged the hit aimed for her.

"Less talking more fighting, girlie."

Hinata blinked. That voice was familiar.

"Sven!? What are you doing here?" Faendal yelled at the bard as he pelted the giant with arrows.

"When we are done here I'll show you what I'm doing here!" The nord replied angrily and once again aimed a strike at the creature's legs.

"Ugh! It's no use!" Faendal moved next to Hinata again."It's skin is too thick and we're only doing surface wounds. Someone needs to go in close and strike the giant. Perhaps the throat or the head."

The Hyuuga girl nodded and pulled slightly away. She returned the two steel daggers to their places for the moment and brought her hands together to form the necessary seals.

"Bunshin no Jutsu." she intoned and beside her appeared a non-corporeal clone of hers, shrouded for several moments in puffs of smoke.

Just as the smoke cleared from her clone, Hinata crouched and silently and stealthily pulled herself aside from the battle. She prepared her Steel Daggers and waited for the opportune moment to strike.

"Ha!" her clone yelled and charged forward, illusionary blades posed to strike. The clone dashed past the the man with the two-hander and the woman with the bow, aiming straight for the abdomen of the giant.

"Hinata!" Faendal yelled out in horror as the club descended upon her Bunshin. The dreaded impact, however, never happened, as the giant's weapon passed through the non-corporeal construct's form and it dissolved into whispy tendrils of smoke. In the brought upon confusion, the real Hinata almost literally shimmered into existence on top of the giant, stabbing with both steel daggers into its neck, opening both carotids and slashing forward. A huge fountain of blood sprung from the deep laceration and the giant helplessly gurgled as it fell backwards, dropping the heavy club with a well resounding thud to the ground.

With a bit of chakra, Hinata jumped off the giant's shoulders and landed gingerly on the ground in a crouching position with daggers held in an attacking stance, just as she was taught. Her face, in that sole moment, displayed nothing more but steely determination. The veins around her eyes receded and she stood up with a sigh. With swift and practiced movements, she wiped the blood from her daggers onto a scrap of cloth and put them away.

It was just then that she noticed all the stares upon her. A blush crept up on her face and neck and she looked down, hands fidgeting with each other. She felt uncomfortable for being singled out in such a way. In this world, so different from her own, her abilities and skills as a ninja were something exceptional. People here were powerful warriors or mages and yet rarely would anyone see a person capable of combining both those potentials to perform something exceptional. Back in her world it was almost the same in some aspects. Only those showing the potential graduated the academy. Only those ready to realise it became ninja. For most the profession of the Shinobi caste was shrouded in mystery. It was no surprise, really. Newly minted Genin took out seasoned fighters and bandits with ease just because they were conditioned into using chakra. Such showings of strenght were often cause for fear or mistrust.

And now, just as she had performed a rather standard assassination technique, she felt and saw all those incredulous gazes and stares. How could she, the timid little girl, kill this incredibly powerful and dangerous giant? Hinata took a deep breath and exhaled slowly and silently. She was a ninja. A ninja's greatest weapon was their mind. She was a Chuunin, and no mere greenhorn. And most of all, she was a Hyuuga, one of the greatest clans in all of the Elemental countries, both feared and respected. For a moment, she squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her jaw. And here in this strange world she was all alone. Neither Kiba or Shino were there to comfort her or shield her in some way, nor was her Sensei, Kurenai, there to offer a reassuring smile.

Her heart was thumping in her ears as she looked ahead, chin held high and her eyes challenging those before her to say something, anything. This was her ninja way. To never give up and to never give in. She felt it very important to show herself confident in front of all these people, to show her pride in her hard earned skills. True, she was a ninja and ninja dealed with death among all other things.

Faendal smirked and nodded lightly in her direction. Sven was looking at her, with obvious apprehension. Perhaps he had thought to fight her and now was having second thoughts on the matter? She did not know but she assumed she'd know soon enough. It was a surprise for her, however, as she held the gazes of the two warriors that were fighting the giant as they had approached. They were not just approving or awed. They seemed to have appreciation for her skill and that thought brought another blush to her already warm face.

"Farkas, go check on Ria." The red-haired woman said, not taking her strangely yellow eyes from Hinata.

"Already on it." the man, now known as Farkas murmured as he moved swiftly towards their falled comrade, taking out a large red colored potion in the process. It was some sort of healing potion, Hinata wagered. She'd have to look into it.

"You did well with the giant. In fact, I find your performance impressive. The Companions could use someone as talented as you." The red-haired woman spoke to her, her piercing gaze never leaving Hinata's pale eyes. For some reason, she reminded her of Kiba's mom, Tsume. "I am Aela, my fellow Companions call me the Huntress." The woman, now known as Aela, extended a hand to Hinata.

The timid girl blinked once and shook hands with her, overcoming her immediate instinct to bow politely.

"My name is H-hinata Hyuuga." the heiress stated softly, only a light blush marring her cheeks.

"Such shyness does not become a warrior." Aela frowned and was about to continue to speak when Sven finally decided it was time to duke it out with Faendal and charged at the wood elf, who quickly dodged, only to be hit in the face by the bard's left elbow.

"Ugh!" Faendal cried out and blood rushed down his face. He staggered backwards, as Sven rushed at him again. Despite his broken nose, the elf managed to sidestep yet again this time avoiding any of Sven's flaying limbs.

Finally, seeing as he won't be able to tackle the elf with the usual charging tactics of the jelaous male type, the bard decided to stand his ground and taunt Faendal into attacking.

"Come on, elf! I don't know what Camilla sees in you but it definately isn't your fighting prowess."

Faendal's eyes narrowed even further and there was a growling sound deep within his throat. He did not say anything at first, but his hands twitched. Hinata knew what that meant. Faendal was quite the marksman. In the matter of a second he could take out and draw his bow and it would be all over for Sven. As an Elf, however, he was agile and light on his feet. Nords were built tall and strong and in the end it would be more of a battle of wits than anything truly physical.

Faendal's attack was swift and Sven couldn't react in time. The Elf's foot collided with the Nord's stomach. The bard grabbed him by the armor and pulled him down on the ground where they proceded to beat each other up.

Hinata stiffled up a groan and attempted to pull them apart without hurting them. It was a lost cause, especially when both men were stubbornly trying to prove each other worthy of Camilla's affections.

"F-faendal-s-san! S-sven-s-san!"

"Let me do this, girl." came the gruff voice of the tall, dark-haired Nord.

"Oof!"

"Ungh."

"There. That'll teach them to behave. For now." Farkas cracked knuckles, satisfied with his work. Both previously fighting men stood up and shot murderous looks at each other and then at the broad-shouldered and heavily armored Companion.

Faendal wiped the blood from his face and then sighed, trying to get himself to calm down.

"Stay away from Camilla."

Sven sneered.

"Ah, Camilla. As fair as the morning sun. But I ask you, elf, how could she prefer your brooding to my romantic tunes?"

"Just stay away from her, Sven, or...or else."

"Or else what, Faendal? Do you honestly think that bringing back a little souvenir that got stolen would miraculously make her fall in love with you?"

"Camilla-"

"Is already mine, elf. She is a woman with refined tastes and she deserves the best! And I am the best man in Riverwood. What can you offer her? Skins and hides? Some game and the occasional herbs?"

"I can offer her my love and loyalty and my life, Sven. Can you say the same about yourself? The fruit does not fall far from the tree, as they say."

Sven turned pale with rage and tried to charge at the elf, only to be caught by Farkas' strong grip.

"Oh no you won't. Both of you behave or I will have to set you straight. Am I clear? Good."

Seeing the fight trully over for now, Hinata rushed over to Faendal and activated her Byakugan. Thankfuly his nose wasn't broken, but she gave him a Minor Potion of Healing just in case of any other, hidden injuries, such as bruises and minor muscle rips, which were not something she specialized in spotting.

The walk to Whiterun was eerily silent and somewhat uncomfortable. Hinata had the utter unpleasure to be stationed in between Sven and Faendal and she had to endure their hateful gazes for several hours. Ahead of them were Farkas and Ria who were talking quietly with each other and at the head of their travelling group was Aela the Huntress.

"Hail Companions." one of the guards at the gate greeted and then turned towards the other three. "They may go through but the city is closed for visitors."

"Uhm." Hinata mumbled and took a deep breath to explain why they were here.

Faendal, however, beat her to it.

"We are here to speak to Jarl Balgruuf the Greater. Riverwood requires aid. Also, this woman here is a survivor from Helgen. I am certain the Jarl would like to hear us out."

The Guard eyed the three of them suspiciously and seemed to try and take in all of Faendal's fast speech .

"I suppose I can let you in, but no funny business." The guard took out a large key and opened the big front gates of the city.

Hinata noted they were made of a solid, dark wood and that they were not as grand as the front gates of Konoha, but they served their purpose well.

"A survivor from Helgen. That place was completely destroyed... Did you see her blank eyes? Poor girl must've been through a lot." Hinata heard the guard mumble to the other guard.

"Such a pretty lass too, no wonder she is so timid."

The Hyuuga heiress looked down, feeling bad that her weakness was so obvious to everyone even here. Faendal placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly.

"Don't listen to them, Hinata. Come on. It is late and we need to save rooms at the inn."

After saying their farewells with the Companions, and after making Hinata visit them in the morning, the three of them headed to save rooms at the local inn, The Bannered Mare. As it was nearly dark outside, the inn happened to be filled to the brim with chatty locals. With a bit of dufficulty, Sven made his way through the crowd to reach the Inkeeper, a woman by the name of Hulda. Hinata followed closely.

"I want to rent a room for the night." the Nord bard stated to the inkeeper lady and soon enough he was off to leave his things in on the second floor.

"What can I do for you, lass? I've just stoked the fire so you can sit down and get the cold out of your bones."

Hinata gave the friendly woman a small, shy smile. Luckily, she was either too busy to notice her blank eyes or she was just that good an inkeeper.

"Uhm, I-I would like two rooms a-and some d-diner for two." she said softly, digging out her coin purse.

As Faendal and Hinata finally settled their things and prepared for dinner, Sven also appeared and sat down by Hinata.

"Why are you still here, Sven?" the Wood Elf asked, his annoyance quite obvious.

"No other tables are free, elf."

"Hn."

Faendal decided it was best to completely ignore the bard and Sven turned to Hinata, who did not seem to show any sort of aggression towards him.

"So, Hinata was it? Were you really at Helgen? Was there really a... Dragon."

"Don't pester her, Sven. It is none of your business."

"My mother claims to have seen a dragon flying over the Bleak Falls Barrow. I do believe I am entitled to know whether or not there really was a dragon."

Faendal and Sven glared for each other for a while. Hinata sighed and took a sip from the Mead she had bought. It made her feel nice and warm inside.

"Ano, F-Faendal, Sven. P-please don't fight. A-and there really w-was a dragon, Sven-san. I-it was b-big a-and pitch black... like-like a v-void. I-it was c-covered in spikes a-and i-its teeth and c-claws w-were huge."

Her eyes clouded with the memories of the complete massacre left behind by the dragon. She fingered her tankard and then she took another small sip. For once the elf and the bard were not exhuding murderous auras. Instead they were mortified by the story she told them.

"I am sorry, Miss Hinata, to have doubted you. I can tell that you are sincere enough and it had been quite the traumatizing experience. My apologies." Sven said softly and gulped down the rest of the contents of his tankard. After a moment or two of silence, the bard smiled somewhat, but it resembled a grimace more than anything else. "And to think I rushed off to fight the elf for Camilla. Don't think I am giving up on her, elf. I merely think that it is best for us all if we secure our Riverwood first. After all, it is home to Camilla as well and if we cannot keep our home safe than what is left of us to do?"

"For once I am inclined to agree with you, Sven. Never had I believed a day would come in which I'd hear something sensible come out of your mouth."

"I say a lot of sensible things, elf. But you were either recently cured of some form of deafness or you were never around to hear me speak. Always in the woods or working at the mill. No wonder Delphine calls you a hermit."

"At least I am never drunk on the job, unlike some bard I know."

"P-please, n-no more fighting."

Hinata intervened another verbal fight, to which both men glared at each other but did not finish their bickering. The rest of their dinner was rather peaceful. Both men managed to eat heaps of food, at least to Hinata's point of view and had more than a few tankards of ale. Finally, some semblance of peace, the girl thought with relief. The atmosphere at the Bannered Mare was quite pleasant, folk of various pedigree and wealth were all chatting with each other, there was laughter and the clinging of tankards. The smell of delicious food, various types of ale and burning timber filled Hinata's nostrills as she observed the people's interactions. A bard was playing his instruments and the Kunoichi noted that Sven was eyeing his performance rather critically. As the three prepared to go to their respective rooms the Riverwood bard announced that he would call a temporary truce with Faendal and would accompany them to Dragonsreach, as he was just as concerned about Riverwood as they were. Faendal looked disgruntled at that declaration but did not voice his disapproval of Sven's presence.

The night came and went, leaving Hinata feeling oddly refreshed as she woke up early in the morning. As she went by to her two companions' respective rooms, she found out that Faendal had already left for the market and Sven was still sleeping. She decided not to disturb him. Early morning in the inn was a rather peaceful and quiet affair. Hulde, the inkeeper, was already up and was putting away various spirits, preparing for the day. The dark-skinned woman, Saadia, was cleaning the floor.

"G-good morning." Hinata greeted the Inkeeper, who had taken notice to her presence."M-may I have s-some tea?"

Hulda smiled pleasantly at her and called Saadia over.

"Yes, mum?"

"Bring the lass some tea. Do you want anything for breakfast as well, dear? We have freshly baked bread, cheese, fruits and vegetables from the market. Whatever your heart and stomach desire." Hulda chuckled.

Hinata ordered herself some bread, some cheese and some apples. It was a simple but filling meal and soon enough she was out on the streets, making her way through the already bustling market of Whiterun. The Hyuuga girl found herself interested in all the various things people were selling. Fruit and vegetables were mostly of local origins and Hinata noted the large amounts of game meat that was for sale. Pork was something she had yet to find and beef was sold in very small quantities. Chicken or any sort of domesticated bird meat was also absent from the stalls in the market. From what the Kunoichi had seen so far for the few days she had spent in this world, cattle, such as the incredibly hairy and ox-like cows were used mainly for the milk they produced. Same rules applied, it seemed, for the chicken, as there were eggs aplenty but nearly no one sold chicken breasts or any such sort of meat.

There were stalls selling things like jugs and bowls, cups and tankards, cutlery and so on. What Hinata discovered to be most intriguing for her was that one small stall, selling cloth. The Hyuuga heiress made note to stop by that stall if they had time on their way back.

"Hinata!"

"Oh, F-faendal. G-good morning." Hinata greeted the Wood Elf, who seemed to be holding some sort of package.

"Good morning, Hinata. I got Camilla a present from my visit in Whiterun. Is that bard up yet? I'd like to speak with the Jarl as soon as possible."

"Uhm, no. L-last I checked, S-sven-san w-was sleeping." Hinata shook her head and followed Faendal as he continued walking.

The elf sighed at the news.

"If the guards have sent word to the Jarl of our presence and we do not appear before him as soon as possible-"

"I am right here, elf, no need to cause a ruckus." Sven suddenly said, making Hinata whirl around and blink at him.

She hadn't sensed him coming so close to her. It was starting to get unnerving. She was a ninja and she'd been trained from a very young age to rely on other people's chakra signatures for identification and that had always been part of the awareness of her surroundings. Here, in Skyrim, however, she was the only person with chakra. In a way, that made her feel exposed. The Hyuuga heiress made note to keep better track of her surroundings. Inwardly, she sighed. It would take her a while to get used to this unpleasant fact.

"We need to get to the Cloud District. That's where Dragonsreach is." Faendal pointed towards the large building at the highest point of Whiterun.

The walk across the Plains District was rather informative for Hinata. She observed the various buildings and small alleyways and also noted the position of the guards, patrolling the streets. The Plains District was the host to most of the shops and the city's marketplace. There were also several small homes here and there. There was a main street that went all the way to the City's gates. The Plains District connected with the higher tier, the Wind District, via several stairways.

The most notable feature to Hinata in the Wind District was the large tree that was in the middle. It seemed to be dead or dying, though it was still quite impressive.

"That over there is the Temple of Kynareth. And this here is the Gildergreen. It is sad to see such a great and beautiful tree dying." Faendal stated, his last words colored by sadness. "And you take that way to reach Jorvaskr, the headquarters of the Companions. We will visit them when we are done in Dragonsreach."

"Jor...vas..." Hinata sighed. She couldn't pronounce it.

"Don't worry, Hinata, you'll get it soon enough. It took me a while to pronounce some of the Nord words myself."

As they walked across the Wind District, the Hyuuga Heiress saw a man wearing priest robes and preaching before the statue of a man.

"A brave man. The worship of Talos is forbidden and yet here he is, doing his calling."

"T-the guards d-don't seem to m-mind him." Hinata observed.

"Because they are Nords. And Talos was a Nord himself." Sven added his two cents.

"We're almost there. Let's talk to that guard over there, he should let us in." Faendal nodded towards one fo the guards standing at the great doors of Dragonsreach. " Excuse me, we are here to see the Jarl. It is an important matter concerning the security of Riverwood."

"Very well, but we will be keeping an eye on you." The guard said as he opened the doors.

Yet again, Hinata felt their stares piercing her back.

"Did you see the girl? Her eyes are blank. Einar said she was a survivor from Helgen. Poor lass."

"Come on, Hinata, let's get to the Jarl."

The girl nodded silently, trying to surpress the urge to duck her head and hide behind Sven, who was the tallest person near her at the moment.

The Grand Hall of Dragonsreach was quite impressive. For a moment or two the Kunoichi marveled at all the wood carvings on the columns and the walls. Despite being primitive in Hinata's point of view, the style held a certain type of strenght and beauty, that she determined typical for the Nord way of life.

As they moved forward, Hinata saw a tall Nord wearing expensive looking clothes. He was sitting on a throne. That must be the Jarl, she deduced.

"My lord, please. This is no time for rash actions-"

"What is the meaning of this interuption?" a dark-skinned woman with gleaming red eyes drew her sword and strode quickly to the three's direction. Hinata knew then and there that the woman was a Dark Elf. "Jarl Balgruuf is not receiving visitors."

"Madam Housecarl, we come from Riverwood. We were sent to seek aid." Faendal spoke, politely inclining his head at the intimidating woman.

"Well. That explains why the Guards let you in... and yet..." the red eyes locked gaze with Hinata. " There was a talk among the guards about a blind girl that supposedly survived Helgen. I take it this is she?"

"Irileth, who are these people?"

"My Jarl, they have come to seek aid for Riverwood."

"And the girl? Is what I heard true. Were you really a survivor at Helgen? It is a miracle that you've managed to escape."

Hinata felt more uncomfortable by the second. Why were these people constantly insisting that she was blind?

"E-excuse me, J-Jarl B-Balgruuf. I-I'm n-not b-blind." A small blush appeared on her face as she said that. "A-and I-I really d-did survive H-Helgen, s-sir."

"Then is it true what people say? That it was destroyed by a dragon?"

"Uhm." Hinata took a deep breath and tried to remove the image of the beast's gaping maw and gleamind red eyes like embers from her mind. "I-it is, s-sir."

Noting her discomfort, Faendal lay a hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly.

"What do you say now, Proventus? Shall we continue to trust in the strenght of our walls? Against a Dragon?"

"My lord, we should send troops to Riverwood at once. It is in the most immediate danger. If that Dragon is lurking in the mountains-"

"The Jarl of Falkreath will view that as a provocation!" the advisor, Proventus, interrupted Irileth." He would assume that we're preparing to join Ulfric's side and attack him! We should not-"

"Enough!" the Jarl shouted. "I will not stand iddly by while a dragon burns my hold and slaughters my people! Irileth, send a detachment to Riverwood at once."

"Yes, my Jarl." the Dark Elf bowed and strode away.

"If you'll excuse me, I'll be returning to my duties." Proventus also walked away.

The Jarl rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. Soon enough he was calm again and he turned his gaze towards the three.

"Well done. You sought me out on your own initiative. You've done Whiterun a service and I will not forget it. I shall give you something as a small token of my esteem."

The Jarl sent them with one of the guards to the Armory.

"That dragon at Helgen... It must've been horrible. To survive something like that... you must've had a Divine or two looking out for you, Lass." The guard spoke to Hinata as Faendal and Sven were bickering quietly about an Imperial bow that caught both their eyes. "Can you really see? Your eyes look blind."

"Uhm. T-they've a-always been l-like that."Hinata mumbled. "I-I see p-perfectly f-fine, g-guard-san."

"Guard-san? Is that 'san' something like mister? Bjorn would do. Name's Bjorn. If someone's giving you trouble, just walk over to a guard and tell them you know Bjorn and it'd be fine."

"M-my name is Hinata Hyuuga. P-pleased to meet you, Bjorn." the Kunoichi shook hands with the guard.

"Let's see if we can find you something your size. A pretty lass like you needs protection."

The comment made her blush lightly and give the guard a small smile.

Some time later all three of them walked out of the armory and back to the Main Hall. The dispute between Faendal and Sven was settled as the Nord found a nice shield to his liking, better quality than his own.

"That is a nice Studded Armor you've got there, Hinata. It needs, however, to be fitted, else these parts here and here will chafe."

Hinata nodded as she put away the Armor in her bags.

"Ah, good. You're still here. There is another thing you can do for me, suitable for someone with your... particular talents." The Jarl said. " Come, let us find Farengar, my Court Wizard."

Hinata perked up at that. She'd finally meet someone wielding magic proper. As they walked, the Jarl explained to the three:

"Farengar has been looking into matters related to these dragons and rumours of dragons."

Sven followed the Jarl first, followed by Faendal and, finally, Hinata.

The Court Wizard's quarters were on the first floor, near the Main Hall. The quarters were a set of rooms that were separated by the Main Hall via a corridor. Hinata noted the abundance of strange and odd things and gadgets that were all over the shelves, the desk and wherever she'd look. There were tall bookshelves packed to the brim with books. On one side she saw a strange ornamented table with glowing runes upon it that made her feel a weak tingling sensation just behind her sternum. Something in that table brimmed with energy. She resisted the urge to activate her Byakugan and take a 'closer' look.

As it turned out, Farengar happened to be a tall nord about her father's age. He had a thin face and sharp, calculating gaze, similar to Faendal. Hinata immediately recognized him as a man who spent a lot of time thinking and analyzing things. Like any ninja worth their salt, Hinata immediately felt weary of the man. It was better to be safe than sorry. The wizard wore dark hooded robes of a fine material. They had found him overlooking a map, with a book in one hand.

"Farengar. I think I may have found some people to help you out with your... dragon project. Feel free to fill them in on anything they might need to know."

"Of course, my Jarl." Farengar bowed his head politely.

As the Jarl left, the Court Wizard marked his progress on the book and snapped it shut quite audibly. For another moment or so his eyes flickered between her, Faendal and Sven. He did not seem to be impressed but he also witheld his opinion of them. Hinata counted that as a good sign.

"Since you are here to help me, you might as well fetch something for me." Farengar started and walked slowly about his desk, crossing his arms over his chest. "And by fetch I mean delve into ancient dangerous ruins in search of a stone tablet that, well, may or may not actually be there."

Hinata did not need to turn around to see Faendal and Sven giving each other looks. She lightly bit her bottom lip. Neither Sven nor Faendal were fond of their task but they were going to go with her to do it. Her ninja training, however, made her want to scold them for their behavior. In a way, Farengar, and by extention – the Jarl, were their clients and they were to do a mission. Her companions were acting unprofessionally and she could practically hear Kurenai-sensei lecturing them at lenght. The Hyuuga girl tried to swallow down her nervousness and willed herself to stop fiddling with the sleeves of her robes. It was usually Shino who would speak to the clients, though Kurenai-sensei always had them practice their speaking-with-clients skills. She felt somewhat foolish to still experience this type of nervousness. The Chuunin mindset had yet to settle in completely, she mused.

"Uhm, w-what are t-the details o-of o-our mission, F-farengar-san?"

For a small moment, the Court Wizard seemed slightly surprised. A very light scowl marred his features as he regarded the girl before him yet again.

"The Stone Tablet is supposed to be located within the Bleak Falls Barrow. It is a Dragonstone – said to contain a map of Dragon Burial Sites. Go to Bleak Falls Barrow, get the Dragonstone and bring it to me. Simplicity itself."

With a bow and a small, polite smile on her face, Hinata excused herself and her companions as soon as possible.

"Why didn't you tell the Court Wizard that you already have the Dragonstone?" Faendal finally asked as they moved quickly through the Wind District.

The Kunoichi avoided meeting gazes with the elf, choosing instead to look at her nervously fiddling fingers.

"W-well "she started mumbling quietly, not really sure how to explain her reasoning without sounding completely and utterly like a greedy bad person. She was a Kunoichi, after all. Not a charity act." G-giving a-away t-that i-inform-mation w-would le-lessen t-the requirem-ments o-of t-the m-mission pa-param-meters."

"Ugh, I didn't catch that." Sven scoffed and Faendal shot the bard a warning glare.

Hinata hung her head low, her bangs somewhat covering her burning face.

"I see. You believe Farengar would reduce whatever reward he would prepare for the Dragonstone. Sly and maybe slightly underhanded, but given your circumstances..."Faendal squeezed her shoulder lightly, reassuringly. "Do not fret, Hinata. You did well."

The Hyuuga girl looked up at him with wide pale eyes and mumbled a barely audible thank you.

"Now let's head to Jorvaskr."


End file.
